Jean Harris was an unlikely candidate to stand trial for murder in a case that became the media sensation of the early 1980's: she was the refined headmistress of a prestigious boarding school and a mother of two. However, after nearly fifteen years of being unable to break through the distant Tarnower's emotional defenses and put an end to his blatant infidelities, Harris' love for the doctor spiraled into something darker. But was Mrs. Harris guilty of premeditated murder, as the prosecution claimed, or did she accidentally kill Tarnower while trying to commit suicide, as she swore?
The stellar supporting cast includes several Oscar winners and nominees, among them: Ellen Burstyn (four-time Oscar nominee and winner for "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"), Oscar nominee Frances Fisher ("Unforgiven"), Michael Gross ("Tremors"), Philip Baker Hall ("Magnolia"), Cloris Leachman (Oscar winner for "The Last Picture Show"), two-time Oscar nominee Mary McDonnell ("Passion Fish"), Chloe Sevigny ("Boys Don't Cry"), Bill Smitrovich ("The Practice") and Frank Whaley ("School of Rock").
"Mrs. Harris" began principal photography in February 2004 in Los Angeles, with additional exteriors in New York.
Annette Bening (Jean Harris) recently completed filming "Being Julia" and can be seen starring opposite Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall in "Open Range." She received nominations for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her starring role in "American Beauty," and won a SAG Award and a BAFTA Award for her performance. Bening also received an Academy Award nomination and was named Best Supporting Actress by the National Board of Review for her role in "The Grifters." She earned a Golden Globe nomination for her starring role in Rob Reiner's "The American President," opposite Michael Douglas. Her other film credits include Mike Nichols' "What Planet Are You From?," Neil Jordan's "In Dreams," "The Siege," "Love Affair" with Warren Beatty, Barry Levinson's "Bugsy," also opposite Beatty, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination, "Regarding Henry" with Harrison Ford and directed by Mike Nichols, "Guilty By Suspicion," opposite Robert De Niro, and Milos Forman's "Valmont." Bening made her feature film debut in the comedy "The Great Outdoors," with Dan Aykroyd and the late John Candy. She was last seen on stage at the Tiffany Theater in Los Angeles in Alan Bennett's "Talking Heads." Prior to that, Bening starred in the title role in Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" in March 1999 at Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse.
Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley (Dr. Herman Tarnower) is currently receiving critical acclaim for his Oscar-nominated performance in Vadim Perelman's "House of Sand and Fog." In 2002, Sir Ben received an Oscar nomination, a Broadcast Film Critics Award, as well as both a SAG and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Jonathan Glazer's "Sexy Beast." Kingsley also gained critical acclaim for his recent appearance in Robert Dornhelm's four-hour television production of "Anne Frank" portraying Anne Frank's father Otto Frank, a role for which he received a SAG Award as well as Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations. In 1982, Kingsley won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Sir Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi," as well as a BAFTA Award for Best Actor and Best Newcomer. Kingsley then earned the London Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for his performance in Harold Pinter's "Betrayal." Sir Ben's other film credits include Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List," for which he won the London Evening Standard Award and a BAFTA Award nomination, "Bugsy," for which he received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor, Bernardo Bertolucci's "Triumph of Love," Stephen Zaillan's "Searching For Bobby Fischer," James Dearden's "Pascali's Island," Tony Palmer's "Testimony," Roman Polanski's "Death and the Maiden," Ivan Reitman's "Dave," and the narrator in Steven Spielberg's "A.I." Kingsley will next be seen in Peter Hyams' "Sound of Thunder" and Elias Merhige's "Suspect Zero," both scheduled for Spring 2004 release.
