Legacy RecordingsA long-planned film about the life of legendary singer Janis Joplin apparently is ready to move forward. 

According to Deadline, Tony Award-winning actress Nina Arianda has been hired to play the lead role in Joplin, which will focus on the six months leading up to Janis' tragic death at age 27 from a heroin overdose in October 1970.  The flick will be directed by Sean Durkin, who has won several honors for his 2011 debut feature film Martha Marcy May Marlene.  The production is expected to begin shooting in early 2013.

Joplin producer Peter Newman has secured the rights to many of Janis' famous songs.  He also controls the rights to two books that are being used as source material for the film: Love, Janis, which features a series of letters Joplin wrote that was compiled by her sister Laura; and Piece of My Heart, a biography penned by one-time Rolling Stone reporter David Dalton, who spent time with the singer during her final months.

While Joplin previously has had some high-profile stars attached to it, including Zooey Deschanel and Pink, Newman seems particularly excited about the casting of Arianda, who took home a best actress Tony this year for her performance in Venus in Fur.

He tells Deadline, "I've never in my life seen an actress walk on a stage and convey the duality of vulnerability with overheated sexuality, which is what Janis was all about."

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