Kate Winslet may serve up 'Mildred Pierce' miniseries

By Rick Porter

    

August 14, 2009 12:30 PM ET

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Oscar winner Kate Winslet could be on her way to the smaller screen in an adaptation of the 1941 novel "Mildred Pierce."

Winslet is attached to a miniseries based on James M. Cain's book, which Todd Haynes ("Far From Heaven," "I'm Not There") would write and direct. Variety reports that HBO is considered the front-runner to land the project, but no deal is in place yet.

If a deal does go through, it would be the first starring role for Winslet on American TV. Since her breakthrough role in "Heavenly Creatures" in 1994, Winslet has largely left TV work behind (although she did earn an Emmy nomination in 2006 for guest-starring as herself on "Extras").

"Mildred Pierce" tells the story of a Depression-era woman who, in an effort to provide for her two daughters -- particularly the status-conscious and spoiled older girl, Veda -- leaves her husband and enters the restaurant business. She eventually makes her way from waitress to the owner of several successful restaurants, but her devotion to her ungrateful daughter and her bad luck with men proves to be her downfall.

The novel was adapted for an acclaimed 1945 film that earned Joan Crawford a best actress Oscar. Winslet collected a best actress Academy Award herself earlier this year for "The Reader" and has been nominated five other times.

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