Jennifer Lawrence is swapping Mystique’s blue body paint for flapper dresses. The Oscar winner has signed on to portray Jazz Age icon Zelda Fitzgerald in “Zelda,” an upcoming biopic about the author and socialite.
Variety reports that the “X-Men: Apocalypse” star will also produce the film, which Ron Howard is developing “as a possible directing vehicle.” “Zelda” is one of those projects where the absence of a woman director stings especially badly. Fortunately, the film is being penned by a woman — Emma Frost (no, not January Jones’ character from the “X-Men: First Class”). Frost has written episodes of “Shameless,” “The White Queen,” and “The Man in the High Castle.”
“The pic follows Fitzgerald, who after marrying famed author F. Scott Fitzgerald, tries to find her own voice in the jazz music scene as her husband rises through the ranks of great American novelists,” writes Variety. Zelda and F. Scott’s relationship was famously rocky, and both writers used autobiographical material in their works. Zelda’s mental health issues eventually led to her being diagnosed with schizophrenia, and she was repeatedly hospitalized for treatment.
Joining Lawrence as producers on “Zelda” are Allison Shearmur, Justine Ciarrocchi, and Brian Oliver. Oliver’s Cross Creek Pictures is financing the project.
As Variety observes, “Zelda” is just the latest example of Lawrence portraying a real-life figure. Lawrence brought self-made millionaire Joy Mangano’s life to the big screen in 2015’s “Joy,” a role she scored an Oscar nod for — her fourth nomination in five years. Her upcoming projects will see her playing war photographer Lynsey Addario in “It’s What I Do,” and Elizabeth Holmes, the 32-year-old founder of Theranos, in “Bad Blood.”
The “Hunger Games” actress will next be seen in “Passengers,” a big-budget sci-fi love story set in the future. The film opens December 21.
