Department of Coincidence

Work is finally set to start on “Mapplethorpe,” the movie about the controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe that local actress Eliza Dushku is producing.

In an interview with The Guardian, director Ondi Timoner revealed that filming will begin in July. Timoner, who also wrote the “Mapplethorpe” script, said she was drawn to the project by the renegade spirit of the main character.

It's magic time for Eliza Dushku

“It’s a very rich story about a cultural lightning rod, who in our country is probably one of the most controversial artists of all time,” the 44-year-old Timoner, who  . . . went to Yale, told the British publication. “Back then, [Mapplethorpe] was doing the unthinkable. Outrageously rebellious. . . . [The film] will hopefully cause people to go do their own thing.” . . .

“Mapplethorpe” will star English actor Matt Smith — you might know him from his role as Prince Philip on the Netflix series “The Crown” — as Mapplethorpe.

Dushku, a Watertown native best known for playing Faith on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” has been trying to get the movie made for over a decade. She recently got engaged to Peter Palandjian, CEO of Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, a Boston-based real estate investment and development firm.

– The Boston Globe, June 28, 2017 (available to home delivery subscribers on or about July 15, 2017)