Belle Gunness, a female Sweeney Todd Gets Cinematic Exposure Soon
The real life drama of the Norwegian immigrant Belle Gunness was first exposed on national TV with a 50-minute documentary – “Belle Gunness: a serial killer from Selbu” by Anne Verit Vestby. There are mysteries surrounding her notoriety as the first woman serial killer in American history during the turn of the 20th century. Considered the Black Widow personified, she was reported to have killed more than 40 people over a span of nine years from 1900 to 1908 in La Porte, Indiana, including all her children, husbands and suitors. She simply faded away and was never apprehended. Independent Hollywood film producer, director and writer Edward Bass is bringing her femme fatale atrocities to the celluloid and the film is currently under production.
With a screenplay written by Bass and co-written by Eva Mayer, the movie has all the makings of a thriller with a potential Oscar award for the actress playing the lead role of Belle Gunness. It is not surprising that many actresses are eying the role and Angelina Jolie is rumored to be interested. The real Belle Gunness, however, is a less voluptuous and bulkier woman at 5’8” and weighed 20 lbs which would have accounted for her ability to kill all her husbands and suitors. Edward Bass would serve history best with a less than sexy actress in the role, but knowing Hollywood, there’s no box office appeal in that.
But the maverick Edward Bass is often a stickler to historical accuracy, if his production value in the 2006 Robert Kennedy biographical sketch “Bobby” as helmed by Emilio Estevez is any indication. You can expect a newcomer with a less than sultry look to fill the role. He has considered Kate Winslet and Renee Zellweger for the role. The latter is in fact, a Norwegian herself.