Brie Larson in Talks to Replace Jennifer Lawrence in Lionsgate’s ‘Glass Castle’
“Room” star may take lead in adaptation of Jeannette Walls’ best-selling memoir
Beatrice Verhoeven | October 9, 2015 @ 9:22 AM
Last Updated: October 9, 2015 @ 10:15 AM
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Brie Larson is in early talks to replace Jennifer Lawrence as the star of Lionsgate’s “The Glass Castle,” an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
Lawrence, who will be back in theaters next month in the studio’s final “Hunger Games” sequel, had been previously attached to the project, which is an adaptation of Jeannette Walls’ best-selling memoir.
Should the deal happen, Larson would work with director Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed her in 2013’s critically acclaimed indie drama “Short Term 12.” Marti Noxon wrote the first draft of the script, and Gil Netter and Erik Feig are producing.
Lawrence had signed on to the project in late 2013 to both star in it and produce it. However, she eventually dropped out, and now has the sci-fi film “Passengers” in the works, as well as a screenplay with friend Amy Schumer.
“The Glass Castle” is about a young girl who comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads led by a mother and father who attempt to distract the children from their poverty.
Larson recently starred in “Room,” a drama about a mother who is held in captivity with her 5-year-old child. The adaptation of Emma Donoghue‘s novel debuted to rave reviews at the Telluride Film Festival, as well as the Toronto International Film Festival. She also starred as Schumer’s sister in Judd Apatow‘s summer comedy hit “Trainwreck.”
Her upcoming projects include “Battle of the Sexes,” “Wiener-Dog,” “Free Fire” and “Kong: Skull Island.”
She is repped by WME, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Sloane, Offer.
Lionsgate declined to comment to TheWrap.
19 Must-See Movies at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival (Photos)
With 289 features playing at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, picking favorites can be impossible. But here are some on TheWrap's to-do list
Courtesy of TIFF
"Trumbo"
Director Jay Roach has found a niche in political movies for HBO, and here he tackles the Hollywood blacklist with Bryan Cranston as banned author and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and Helen Mirren as powerful gossip columnist Hedda Hopper.
Groundswell Productions
"I Saw the Light"
British actor Tom Hiddleston has the lean, haunted look to play country music icon Hank Williams, but can he nail the voice in Marc Abraham’s biopic?
Sony Pictures Classics
"Where to Invade Next"
Michael Moore hasn’t made a documentary since "Capitalism, a Love Story" six years ago, but the current political climate seems ready-made for his fiery and funny approach.
Dog Eat Dog Films
"Spotlight"
With its top-notch ensemble cast including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams, director Tom McCarthy’s journalism procedural wowed audiences in Venice and Telluride with its depiction of a team of Boston Globe reporters uncovering the Catholic Church’s sex-abuse scandal.
Anonymous Content
"Beasts of No Nation"
It’s reportedly hard to watch, but Cary Fukanaga’s child-soldier drama has early critics throwing around comparisons to "Apocalypse Now."
Red Crown Productions
"Freeheld"
Peter Sollett’s timely true story of a lesbian couple in New Jersey who went to court to fight for pension rights stars Julianne Moore and Ellen Page, a formidable team.
Double Feature Films
"Every Thing Will Be Fine"
After he made the brilliant 3D dance documentary "Pina," German director Wim Wenders said he was going to make an intimate 3D drama – and the result is this film, which stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Rachel McAdams and James Franco, who apparently must by law have at least one film in every film festival.
IFC Films
"The Martian"
Is Ridley Scott’s space odyssey a popcorn movie, or a true awards contender? TIFF audiences will be the first to decide.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Room"
The buzz out of Telluride is that 8-year-old Jacob Tremblay is a revelation, and maybe an awards contender, for his role in Lenny Abrahamson’s dark drama about a boy raised inside a small room where he and his mother (Brie Larson) are imprisoned.
Reactions from Venice and Telluride say the violence is brutal but Johnny Depp is great (and a strong Oscar contender) as mobster Whitey Bulger, making Scott Cooper’s drama a hot ticket.
Warner Bros
"Un Plus Une"
French director Claude Lelouch, best-known for his 1996 film "A Man and a Woman," is working with "The Artist" star (and Oscar winner) Jean Dujardin in a story about a film composer finding love on a trip to India.
Les Films 13
"Anomalisa"
Charlie Kaufman, the writer of "Being John Malkovich" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," made his directorial debut with the thorny "Synecdoche, New York" seven years ago, and his second film (a collaboration with Duke Johnson) is a stop-motion animation production that sounds just as odd and intriguing as his past work.
Front Row Filmed Entertainment
"The Program"
On the heels of the Oscar-nominated "Philomena," director Stephen Frears turns his sights to the Lance Armstrong saga, with Ben Foster as the disgraced cyclist.
StudioCanal
"Stonewall"
Roland Emmerich, the director best known for disaster epics like "Independence Day," gets serious and intimate with the story of the game-changing 1969 New York City riots that helped launch the gay rights movement.
Roadside Attractions
"Heart of a Dog"
Laurie Anderson’s first film in almost 30 years is ostensibly about her dog, but fans of the musician and performance artist know it’ll really be about far, far more than that.
Abramorama
"The Danish Girl"
Tom Hooper’s "The King’s Speech" had a coronation of sorts in Toronto on its way to winning Best Picture, giving his transgender drama with Eddie Redmayne a high bar to reach.
Focus Features
“Desierto”
Writer-director Jonás Cuarón was working on this script when he joined his father Alfonso and took a detour to make the Oscar-winning “Gravity,” but this tale of tensions along the U.S./Mexican border couldn't be timelier.
Esperanto Kino
“Thru You Princess”
Ido Haar’s documentary has one of TIFF’s wildest true stories: Israeli musician Kutiman, who assembles videos from the work of amateur performers he finds on YouTube, in the process making an unlikely star out of a New Orleans caregiver who posts her own videos under the name Princess Shaw.
Courtesy of TIFF
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With 289 features playing at this year’s TIFF, picking favorites can be impossible. But here are some standouts on TheWrap’s to-do list
With 289 features playing at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, picking favorites can be impossible. But here are some on TheWrap's to-do list