A biopic about closeted '50s movie star Rock Hudson is moving ahead at Universal.

Greg Berlanti, who gave us one of the first-ever mainstream gay teen romances, "Love, Simon," is attached to direct.

Oscar-nominated Richard LaGravenese ("The Fisher King") is in talks to adapt, based on based on "All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson," by Mark Griffin.

Hudson was one of the popular actors of the '50s and '60s, starring in films including the romantic comedies "Pillow Talk" and "Send Me Now Flowers" with Doris Day and the epic western "Giant," for which he received his only Oscar nomination.

He remained discreet about his sexual orientation throughout his life and died of complications from AIDS in 1985, shortly after his guest stint on "Dynasty."

The biography takes its title from the 1955 film "All That Heaven Allows" directed by Douglas Sirk, about a romance between a wealthy widow Jane Wyman) and a much younger gardener (Hudson).

Todd Haynes cited it as a reference for his '50s period film "Far From Heaven," in which a housewife (Julianne Moore) falls for her black gardener (Dennis Haysbert) after learning her husband (Dennis Quaid) is gay.

Hudson was the first major celebrity to be diagnosed with AIDS. Elizabeth Taylor (his costar in "Giant") went on to found the American Foundation for AIDS Research at a time when there was no government funding for the disease.

No one has yet been cast as Hudson. The film will surely also have to cast someone as Day (who's still with us at age 96), Taylor and costars including James Dean.

[Via Variety]