Sometimes, the stars don't align. It's as simple as that when projects don't come together and roll in front of cameras, and while in early 2010 Darren Aronofsky and Angelina Jolie were signed to direct and star in the period drama "Serena," it simply didn't come together. But now, nearly two years later, an equally compelling roster of talent are coming aboard, and will hopefully get this one moving.
Vulture repots that Oscar-winning director Susanne Bier ("In A Better World"), Bradley Cooper and Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lawrence will now head up the adaptation of the Ron Rash novel. The story centers on a man named George Pemberton and his new bride, Serena, as they set out to depression-era North Carolina to create a timber empire. Their successful, ruthless reign in the mountains becomes complicated when Serena discovers her inability to bear children, setting her on a vengeful path against George's illegitimate son.
The film will be a reteam for Cooper and Lawrence, who also both topline David O. Russell's upcoming "The Silver Linings Playbook." And it continues a very busy run for Bier, who already has her next effort, the Italian set dramedy "All You Need Is Love" starring Pierce Brosnan in the can.
There's no exact word on when this might lens, but reports say that it will be "soon," but with Cooper already being pulled into a possible shoot on either "The Hangover Part III" or the stalled "Paradise Lost" this summer, and with Lawrence slated with "Catching Fire" in the near future, that could present a problem. Unless, this thing is really moving fast and will gear up this spring before those other commitments come into play. Guess we'll soon see.
It's certainly some pretty epic material — the female lead has been compared to Lady Macbeth, while the overall scope evokes "McCabe & Mrs.Miller," "Cold Mountain" or "Jeremiah Johnson" — but no word yet if the film is keeping the Chris Kyle script from way back when, or if it's been rewritten. But yeah, we'll take this over the Wolfpack and CGI English literature any day of the week.
