Louise Brooks related film, The Chaperone, set for 2019

I have long been expecting the Louise Brooks related film, The Chaperone, to be released sometime in 2018.... But just yesterday, I noticed IMdB now has a April, 2019 release date.

In 2017, PBS Masterpiece posted this about the much anticipated production: "The Chaperone takes place against the backdrop of the tumultuous times of the early 1920’s. A Kansas woman (Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey) is forever changed when she chaperones a beautiful and talented 15-year-old dancer (Haley Lu Richardson, Split) named Louise Brooks to New York for the summer. One of them is eager to fulfill her destiny of dance and movie stardom; the other is on a mission to unearth the mysteries of her past.

MASTERPIECE’s first feature film will reunite the writer, director and star of Downton Abbey. The Chaperone, based on Laura Moriarty’s best-selling American novel, will be scripted by Julian Fellowes, directed by Michael Engler, and star Elizabeth McGovern, who played Lady Grantham in the hit series."

So, it looks like fans of film star Louise Brooks and Laura Moriarty's wonderful book will have to wait just a little bit longer.....

Today, I came across an Irish news story about the in-the-works Downton Abbey film which mentioned The Chaperone film. That news story stated:

Downton Abbey is not McGovern's only movie in the pipeline as she also stars in The Chaperone, which is due for release before the former arrives in cinemas.

She said: "It's the same period but it's a script that Julian adapted from a book that I brought to him and we both love it.

"It's about Louise Brooks, who is a famous, iconic movie star, who, as a young girl, traveled from Kansas to New York and she's accompanied by a middle-aged housewife.

"It's the story of their journey before she became a big movie star."

By all accounts, The Chaperone is finished shooting. It is expected that the film will be released in theaters, and then shown on PBS Masterpiece. Below is an earlier photo of Haley Lu Richardson and Elizabeth McGovern on the set of The Chaperone.

I should mention that my new book, Louise Brooks, the Persistent Star, contains a 2013 article on the various Downton Abbey / Louise Brooks connections as well as a brief 2012 interview with author Laura Moriarty.