“The Rosie Project” has been through its share of ups and downs. Based on the bestselling novel of the same name, the project originally had Jennifer Lawrence attached to star with Richard Linklater set to direct as his follow-up to “Boyhood.” After Lawrence departed due to scheduling difficulties, and Linklater followed suit, the film has lingered since 2015 with no news of replacements.
The Hollywood Reporter is now reporting that “The Rosie Project” now has a director in Ben Taylor. The British director has spent the last few years working on the Amazon comedy “Catastrophe,” where he has directed all three seasons. “The Rosie Project” marks his first big jump into feature films, whereas previously he has done primarily TV work.
“The Rosie Project” tells the story about a socially inept genetics professor who figures out that married men live longer than single men. In an attempt to lengthen his lifespan, he sets out to find the perfect spouse. However, hilarity ensues when this mild-mannered, socially awkward professor meets the wildcard Rosie. While this sounds like fodder for a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, with two leads along the lines of Jennifer Lawrence, this has the chance to rise above the fairly standard premise.
The film was adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. The writing duo has a strong romantic comedy pedigree with films like “(500) Days of Summer,” “The Spectacular Now,” and “The Fault in Our Stars.” However, they also have “The Pink Panther 2” under their belts, so who knows what to expect?
There’s no word yet on who the two romantic leads might be, but this project has been percolating for a while now, so the studio is probably hoping to get this one done soon.