Sony’s big-screen adaptation of Graeme Simsion’s romantic novel The Rosie Project has hit a speed bump – The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Jennifer Lawrence has exited the in-development drama.
As the outlet notes, this is the second project that the actress has bowed out of recently, after parting ways with Lionsgate’s The Glass Castle. It’s understood that Boyhood helmer Richard Linklater remains attached to The Rosie Project, and the search for a new actress to fill a role said to be tailored for Lawrence begins now.
Scripted by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, Linklater’s is designed to remain overly faithful to Simsion’s source material, orbiting around a reclusive genetics professor who seems to have hatched a scientifically proven survey to find a compatible life partner. During his research, he crosses paths with a young woman called Rosie Jarman, who effectively upends the professor’s work by possessing all of the disorderly qualities that contradict his profile.
Bearing some semblance to Lawrence’s unhinged, yet brilliant turn in Silver Linings Playbook, it’s hardly surprising that The Rosie Project was fine-tuned to match the actress’ on-screen persona based on the plot synopsis. Sony will search far and wide to find a replacement with even half the star power that Lawrence currently possesses, who made the headlines only today after publishing a frank open letter regarding pay inequality in Hollywood.
It’s an excellent read from an actress standing at a crossroads in her career. With X-Men: Apocalypse and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 both looming on the horizon, Jennifer Lawrence is on the verge of leaving two franchises that helped mould her into a bona fide star. But as dramas such as Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle have showcased, the actress possess remarkable range, and even though The Rosie Project has now slipped off her future slate, we’re excited to see her next step.
