After years of turning in stellar performances in fare as diverse as Short Term 12, Digging for Fire and Trainwreck, Brie Larson is finally about to break out. Her performance in this fall’s Room is a veritable tour-de-force, and few things are as certain as her name coming up in association with all manner of awards later this year.
Now, TheWrap is reporting Larson has selected an appropriately buzzy follow-up pic in The Glass Castle, an adaptation of the bestselling memoir by Jeanette Walls. Though talks are still in early stages, there’s reportedly a lot of interest on both sides.
Jennifer Lawrence was previously attached to take on the lead role in the pic, but that was two years ago and the Hunger Games actress’ schedule is looking even more packed now than it did then. It’s likely she just couldn’t find the time to fit Glass Castle into her busy schedule and ended up moving along. Luckily, Larson is one hell of a replacement – especially given that the project will reteam her with Short Term 12 helmer Destin Daniel Cretton.
Marti Noxon (Fright Night) wrote the script, which focuses on Walls’ childhood being raised by two dysfunctional parents in a household pock-marked by poverty and conflict. The official book synopsis reads:
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town — and the family — Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents’ betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
The potential for a deeply felt, engrossing adaptation of Walls’ terrific memoir seems sky-high, and getting a rising star like Larson on board shows just how strongly Lionsgate believes in the project. If a deal happens, don’t expect much movement on this until the actress finishes her (deserved) victory laps for Room, but The Glass Castle definitely seems like a worthy follow-up.