Robin Wright to Direct Patricia Clarkson in Comic Love Story ‘Bingo’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Robin Wright will direct Patricia Clarkson in a new film, “Bingo,” which shares some DNA with the cult classic “Harold and Maude,” she told Variety Friday at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where both Wright and Clarkson are guests.

The story is a “modernized, beautiful” take on May-December romance (that is, a romantic relationship between two people with a considerable age difference), said the actor, being honored this week at the festival. One thing “Bingo” won’t feature is the dark center that “Harold and Maude,” the 1971 Hal Ashby comedy, featured, said Wright. “Bingo” is written by Annakate Chappell, who is represented by Adam Riback at Echo Lake Entertainment.

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“I love directing,” Wright said. “I love seeing what actors can do. And pulling it out of them.”

The “Princess Bride” star, who will be screening the classic offbeat fairy tale for a new generation at Karlovy Vary, also said David Fincher was a source of inspiration for her when directing. Fincher directed Wright as Claire Underwood in the Netflix series “House of Cards,” the presidential power intrigue co-starring Kevin Spacey in which she got her first break as director. The opportunity arose after Spacey, who is currently on trial in the U.K. facing sexual assault charges, was forced to step down from the series in 2017.

Wright also said her next film role as an actor, in “Here,” a Robert Zemeckis-directed film starring Tom Hanks and written by Eric Roth, brings together the dream team from 1994’s “Forrest Gump,” but on another level. She is now being asked to help develop the characters and roles in the project, Wright said, unlike the first time around when money was too scarce to allow the director and stars much time to even have lunch together.

Wright, who is speaking about her career onstage at the festival on Friday, will receive its President’s Award at the closing ceremony Saturday. Clarkson is serving as a member of the Crystal Globe jury at the event.

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