Winslet to star in 'Mildred Pierce' on TV

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- British actress Kate Winslet is to play the title role in an HBO miniseries based on James M. Cain's classic novel, "Mildred Pierce," Variety reported.

The late Joan Crawford previously portrayed the character, a single mother struggling to provide for her children during the 1930s Great Depression, in a celebrated 1945 big-screen version of the book.

Winslet, who starred in "Sense and Sensibility," "Titanic" and "Little Children," won an Oscar this year for her work in the 2008 drama, "The Reader."

Variety said "I'm Not There" and "Far From Heaven" filmmaker Todd Haynes is writing and plans to direct the miniseries, which is likely to air on HBO.