Keats Inspires New Campion Film

The doomed love affair between English poet John Keats and his neighbour, Fanny Brawne, is to be the subject of a literary biopic written and directed by Oscar-winning NZ filmmaker, Jane Campion. Keats and Brawne were engaged to be married when the poet was diagnosed with tuberculosis and advised to move to a warmer climate. The young lovers never saw each other again: Keats died in Rome aged 25. Titled Bright Star, after a love poem Keats dedicated to Brawne, the film will feature Ben Whishaw (Perfume) and Abbie Cornish (Somersault) in the lead roles. NZ-born Campion won the Academy Award for best screenplay in 1994 for The Piano.