Steven Spielberg to direct Jennifer Lawrence as war photographer
Steven Spielberg is attached to direct Jennifer Lawrence in a Warner Bros. film based on photojournalist Lynsey Addario’s memoir, “It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War,” The Times has confirmed.
Deadline Hollywood first reported that the studio was closing a deal to acquire film rights to Addario’s book Monday afternoon.
In her book, published last month, Addario recounts her experiences documenting the past decade of global war and strife in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and Congo. In Libya, she was held captive by Moammar Kadafi’s soldiers for several days in 2011. In the book, she also tries to explain why a so-called normal person would travel into war zones.
“I choose to live in peace and witness war — to experience the worst in people but to remember the beauty,” she writes.
A Spielberg-Lawrence film would pair one of Hollywood’s most esteemed filmmakers with one of its fastest-rising young actresses. That said, Spielberg in particular has had a few false starts on high-profile films in recent years, including “Robopocalypse” and “American Sniper.” Clint Eastwood ended up directing “Sniper.” (“Sniper” producer Andrew Lazar is also handling “It’s What I Do.”)
Spielberg has gotten back in the game, though, with an untitled Cold War thriller starring Tom Hanks and an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “The BFG,” starring Mark Rylance and newcomer Ruby Barnhill.
Meanwhile, Lawrence’s slate includes “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2,” the David O. Russell movie “Joy” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.”
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