Todd Haynes’ New Show for Amazon Will Focus on the Life of Sigmund Freud
It’s been a while since Todd Haynes last won our hearts with Carol. His last film was Wonderstruck, an adaptation of the Brian Selznick novel, which was relatively well-received but wasn’t a sensation the way Carol was. But the new Todd Haynes show has us definitely intrigued. Last year, he teased it with a very vague description, but we now know that Sigmund Freud will be Haynes’ subject.
Last year, Haynes was interviewed about upcoming projects, and while he mentioned a Velvet Underground documentary in the works, he also mentioned a new TV series for Amazon. At the time, he kept it vague, only saying that the series would “re-examine a figure who maybe we forget how radical they were in their thinking because they were so incorporated into our culture and outlook as a modern society.”
We finally know that Haynes was talking about Freud, often called the “father of modern psychiatry.” While much of Freud’s body of work turned out to be ultimately discredited, his influence looms large in pop culture — when people think of modern psychotherapy, they often think of Freud.
The initial word came out while Haynes was at Cannes to help honor his frequent collaborator Edward Lachman who had received the Pierre Angénieux ExcelLens in Cinematography Award, a lifetime-achievement award.
Lachman earned the award for his work as a cinematographer on such films as Erin Brockovich, The Virgin Suicides and Life During Wartime. Lachman has worked with Todd Haynes on a number of films, including Carol, I’m Not There and Far From Heaven. (Fun fact: Lachman was also the cinematographer on Madonna’s “Into the Groove” video!)
Unfortunately, Haynes is still keeping mum about other details of his upcoming Freud series, so we’ll just have to wait and see what shape the project ultimately takes.
