Ryan Murphy is set to adapt Larry Kramer's play The Normal Heart for HBO. Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo, Alec Baldwin, Jim Parsons, and Matt Bomer will star in the telepic that takes place in New York City during the early-'80s onset of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Roberts will play a paraplegic physician working with some of the earliest patients of the disease.
The project is based on the Tony-winning play and will start production this year, with an aim to air in 2014. HBO programming president Michael Lombardo had this to say in a statement,
We are so proud to be involved with this monumental project. Ryan has assembled an extraordinary cast to bring Larry Kramer’s landmark theatrical achievement to the screen for the first time, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to bring this important film to HBO.”
Sounds like it could make for an interesting project for Murphy who previously directed Roberts in the 2010 adaptation of Eat Pray Love.