Emilia Clarke to Star in Bjorn Runge-Directed Love Story ‘Let Me Count the Ways’

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke will play poet Elizabeth Barrett in “Let Me Count the Ways,” with Bjorn Runge directing the love story from a Paula Milne script. Based on a true story, the film will follow the love affair between poet Barrett and playwright Robert Browning.

Damian Jones of DJ Films (“Goodbye Christopher Robin”) and Bankside Films are producing. It is their second collaboration following Amma Asante’s “Belle.” Bankside developed the film as part of its growing production slate. It holds the international sales rights and will introduce the film to buyers for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival.

Clarke is hot property after “Game of Thrones,” and Runge is coming off the success of “The Wife.” BAFTA-winning Milne is one of the U.K.’s leading screenwriters.

Set in the mid-19th century, the film follows Elizabeth as she is living in the family home with her siblings in an affluent part of London. She has gained fame and recognition for her poetry but, weakened by a mysterious illness, lives as a virtual recluse, reliant on laudanum. The youthful, impulsive Robert Browning comes into her life, awakening a passion she had previously only ever written about. But the closer she and Browning get, the more her father fights to keep control over her.

“We are thrilled to be able to bring this most compelling of love stories to the world, and to be able to do so with such a talented team of people both in front and behind the camera is a privilege,” said Bankside’s Stephen Kelliher.

Jones added: “This film is a classic love story which delivers something entirely unexpected and relevant in today’s world, and I am excited to be embarking on this journey with an outstanding team of people.”