Diane Keaton to star in HBO comedy series

Diane Keaton in Los Angeles, January 9, 2008.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Diane Keaton is venturing into series television with a half-hour comedy at HBO.

Written by Marti Noxon, the untitled project stars the Oscar winner as a feminist icon who attempts to reignite the movement by starting a sexually explicit magazine for women.

The comedy hails from Grady Twins Prods., a production company recently launched by Noxon and Dawn Parouse. Noxon, Parouse and Keaton are executive producing.

"We've came a long way since the Kinsey report; women are more sexual now," said Noxon, referring to Alfred Kinsey's controversial 1953 report "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female."

Added Parouse: "There seems to be a new evolution of what women are sexually. Women are acting more like men sexually."

Noxon had carried the kernel of the idea for a show that touches upon feminism as long as she can remember.

She was 12 when her mother came out as a radical feminist and a lesbian and recalls juggling her mom's beliefs -- which included the dismissal of leg shaving as "giving into patriarchalism" -- with her own interests.

"I wanted to be a gal, I was very interested in men, and I wanted to shave my legs," Noxon said.

She and Parouse bounced around the idea of a young feminist working at a porn magazine. The moment they decided to make the central character an older, Gloria Steinem-type feminist icon, it all fell into place.

They said Keaton was the first actress they thought of.

"There are a lot of similarities between Diane and Gloria Steinem," Parouse said. "They both grew up in the '50s, a period marked by women finding their relevance sexually, and Diane has been attracted to roles about women exploring their sexuality in films like 'Something's Gotta Give.' "

Keaton has played feminist icons: She portrayed journalist Louise Bryant in 1981 film "Reds" and aviator Amelia Earhart in the 1994 telefilm "Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight."

Noxon and Parouse met on the 2003 Fox drama "Still Life," which they executive produced. They also worked on the network's 2005 series "Point Pleasant" before parting ways to pursue other jobs: Parouse executive produced "Prison Break" and Noxon worked on "Grey's Anatomy," "Brothers & Sisters" and "Private Practice."

Last year the decided to launch a company, and named it Grady Twins after characters from "The Shining." "We made a pinkie promise to do projects we love and see where it takes us," Parouse said.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)