Bette Midler to Star in 'Mae West' for HBO Films, William Friedkin Directing

Hollywood icon Mae West will soon be returning to the screen. According to Deadline, HBO has put into development “Mae West,” a film adaptation of the star’s autobiography “Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It,” with none other than than the Divine Miss M, Bette Midler, set to play West.

The team behind the production has more than a few heavy hitters attached, including William Friedkin (“The Exorcist,” “Killer Joe”) as the director, actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein penning the script, and Jerry Weintraub as executive producer.

Mae West was a salacious Broadway star who constantly battled authorities over obscenity charges, eventually jailed for 10 days for “corrupting the morals of youth” in her breakthrough play “Sex.” West eventually moved to Hollywood where she became one of the highest grossing stars of the 1930s and though her career is partly defined by her fights against the censors, West is playfully quoted as saying “I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it.”

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