TCA: Ryan Murphy to Direct Film Version of 'The Normal Heart' for HBO

Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo to star in Larry Kramer's adaptation of his Tony-winning play

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/4/2013 5:05:15 PM

Complete Coverage: TCA Winter Press Tour 2013

Pasadena, Calif. -- Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo will star in a film adaptation of Larry Kramer's Tony Award-winning play The Normal Heart for HBO, the network announced Friday at the 2013 winter Television Critics' Association press tour.

Ryan Murphy will direct the film, which Kramer will adapt for the screen. The film will begin production in New York later this year for a 2014 premiere on HBO.

The Normal Heart chronicles the onset of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York in the early 1980s. After initially debuting at New York's Public Theater in 1985, the 2011 Broadway revival garnered five Tony nominations, including three wins.

Murphy, Jason Blum, Dede Gardner and Dante Di Loreto will executive produce.