Jennifer Lawrence shot to stardom with the hugely successful The Hunger Games, but her next project is a smaller film reminiscent of Winter’s Bone, the arthouse drama that earned her an Academy Award nomination.
According to /Film, Lawrence has signed on to star in Ends of the Earth, a film based on the true story of a romance between an oil baron and his adopted daughter.
Lawrence is set to play Lydie Marland, who according to Variety “was adopted as a girl by her aunt Virginia and uncle Ernest. She later becomes their adopted daughter and eventually becomes Ernest’s wife. Urging him to raise workers’ wages and give them unprecedented access to medical care, she earns the nickname the “princess of the prairies.”
The film is written by Chris Terrio, who adapted the upcoming Argo for director Ben Affleck. At the moment, no director or leading actor is attached to the project, but The Weinstein Company is in final negotiations to distribute.
Jennifer Lawrence has a busy year ahead of her, with the Hunger Games and X-Men: First Class sequels both set to begin shooting soon. Small movies like this, however, may be the ones that define her acting career.
The terse character description is intriguing, and this sounds like a good opportunity for Lawrence to hone her drama chops. I believe she’s an incredibly talented young actress and I look forward to seeing what she does in this project and others; she is one of the rare performers, especially for her age group, who can juggle both blockbuster hits and critically-acclaimed indies.
What do you think? Are you excited to see Lawrence in Ends of the Earth?