(JTA) — British actress Felicity Jones will portray Jewish Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a biopic after Natalie Portman dropped out.
Shooting of “On the Basis of Sex” was slated to begin this month in Montreal, according to Variety.
Portman, who is Jewish, had been attached to play Ginsburg for at least four years while the film project was stuck in development.
Jones starred as Jyn Erso in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and in “Inferno” with Tom Hanks. She received a best actress Oscar nomination for her role in “The Theory of Everything.”
Ginsburg was the second woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court.
The film, which is being directed by Mimi Leder from a script by Daniel Stiepleman, deals with Ginsburg’s struggles for equal rights and what she had to overcome in order to become a U.S. Supreme Court justice, according to IMDB.
Ginsburg, 84, was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and remains one of the court’s most liberal voices. During the past election campaign, in a move rare for justices on the high court, Ginsburg said in several public comments that Donald Trump was unfit for office. Trump called for Ginsburg to resign and questioned her mental acquity. Ginsburg later apologized, calling her remarks “ill advised.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
