LOS ANGELES: British screen star Kate Winslet, who won the 2009 best actress Oscar, will take the lead role in a television adaptation of "Mildred Pierce," based on the novel by James M. Cain, Hollywood press said Friday.

Winslet, who won the Academy Award for "The Reader," will be directed by Todd Haynes, best known for his landmark Bob Dylan 2007 biopic "I'm Not There."

Although no deal has been struck, Variety said the US subscription channel HBO is a lead contender to pick up the mini-series.

The novel was originally made into a 1945 movie that won actress Joan Crawford an Oscar for her portrayal of a lonely housewife getting into the restaurant business -- a move that ultimately devolves into a thrilling tale of romance and murder.

Winslet, 33, first gained popular attention for her star-making role in the 1997 epic Titanic movie, opposite Leonardo Di Caprio.

Haynes, who will also write "Mildred Pierce" for the small screen, directed "Safe" (1995), "Velvet Goldmine" (1998), and "Far from Heaven" (2002).