Jennifer Lawrence Will Have a ‘Hunger Games’ Reunion With an ‘East of Eden’ Remake
Jennifer Lawrence is unstoppable. She's got two franchises and one Oscar under her belt, and she's ready to work again with the first 'Hunger Games' director Gary Ross on two upcoming projects, both adaptations of novels. The duo are set to work on a redo of John Steinbeck's 'East of Eden' and Hannah Kent's 'Burial Rites.'
This news comes from Deadline, and the 'East of Eden' remake is that much further along. It's set up at Universal, with Image Entertainment behind it to produce. Ross wants to adapt it as two films, with Lawrence playing Cathy Ames, the matriarch of the family. The character is a cold woman who raises two boys but becomes estranged from her farmer husband. The second film would then hem closer to the film made by Elia Kazan in 1955, which was the film that launched James Dean into stardom. (And if they want to get meta they could cast either James Franco or Dane DeHaan in that role). Somehow Steinbeck is hot again as Steven Spielberg is also set to produce a new version of 'The Grapes of Wrath.'
The other adaptation, 'Burial Rites,' has yet to find a studio, but this team is sure to get it made. According to Deadline, the book is about "a woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829. The drama takes place between the murder and the prosecution of the case against a woman who is victimized and powerless against the forces trying to send her to a public execution." Both roles sound like Lawrence is trying to find the balance between her time as Katniss Everdeen and Mystique, and the more serious Oscar fare that launched her in the first place. They also suggest an incredibly bright actress with a good nose for material.