April 29, 2014 - 12:14 AMT
“The Help” helmer poised to film Sandra Bullock in Tupperware story

Sandra Bullock is circling to star as trailblazing sales exec Brownie Wise in an untitled project detailing the rise of Tupperware that has The Help director Tate Taylor attached to direct, The Hollywood Reporter said.

David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films/TV, whose credits range from The Fighter to The Muppets, are producing.

The producers put together the package over the course of several months and hope to find a home for it soon. The likely first stop would be Disney, where the company has its production deal.

The script, which Taylor wrote, is based on Tupperware Unsealed, the non-fiction book written by Bob Kealing. Taylor has met and discussed the project with Bullock, but although the actress has expressed a desire to do it, she is not formally attached.

Tupperware was originally developed by Earl Silas Tupper but took off in the 1950s when sales exec Wise came up with the idea of having Tupperware parties. Soon those get-togethers were sweeping the nation and Wise became as popular as the product she was selling and in 1954 she also became the first woman to appear on the cover of Business Week.

Wise, however, clashed with Tupper, who eventually pushed her out in 1958 and tried his best to erase her from the company records. She never recovered from the action and was an early casualty of the sexism wars that were beginning to be fought in post-World War II America.

Tom Shelly, who counts many seasons of Survivor amongst his credits, also is producing.

Showing an interest in Tupperware is the first move Bullock (CAA, Ziffren Brittenham) has made since hitting a career high with an Oscar nomination for her performance in Gravity. The actress has circled several projects (Perfect Heist at Screen Gems, for example) in the last few months but nothing has caught her fancy.

Taylor (CAA, Lichter Grossman) recently wrapped Get on Up, the Chadwick Boseman-starring biopic of James Brown, which Universal will release Aug. 1.

Photo: People