Hey folks, Scurlock here.
When you're one of the most bankable people in Hollywood, have an Oscar on your shelf at twenty five and are very clearly David O. Russell's muse, you most certainly have the confidence to expand your creative horizons.
That's just what Jennifer Lawrence is doing, with the announcement today via Entertainment Weekly that she intends to make her directorial debut. According to Lawrence, she'll be helming the film adaptation based on a 2012 article titled "Operation Delirium" written by journalist Raffi Khatchadourian. The story, published in The New Yorker, details the Edgewood Arsenal human experiments which saw the U.S. Army Chemical Corps conduct chemical research on over seven thousand soldiers between 1948 and 1975, including the administering of psychoactive drugs.
Lawrence says of her directorial endeavors and the future film:
“I have wanted to direct as long as I’ve wanted to act. I just don’t talk about it because I’d rather just do it. It’s funny, I’ve wanted to direct since I was 16 and always thought I should start making steps towards that. If I had tried to do it earlier, I wouldn’t have been ready. Now I actually feel ready.”
On the story itself:
"...it’s based on this article about mental warfare in the ’60s, like an acid experiment gone terribly wrong, focused on military doctors running experiments on soldiers throughout the Cold War."
That's some heavy stuff.
We're still way early days on this project, so no news on a timeline, but Jennifer still has a hell of a lot to keep herself busy. This last August she announced a screenwriting partnership with comedian Amy Schumer (TRAINWRECK, INSIDE AMY SCHUMER), with plans for both to co-star, and is currently filming Sci-Fi flick PASSENGERS with Chris Pratt and Laurence Fishburne.
