Charlize Theron and producer Basil Iwanyk (The Town) have optioned the Vanity Fair article "Marie Colvin's Private War."  The article by Marie Brenner tells the story of determined war journalist Marie Colvin, who got herself smuggled into Syria last winter to cover the civil war.  Colvin and photographer Rémi Ochlik were killed by an improvised explosive device while fleeing an unofficial media building that the Syrian army bombed.

The project is viewed as a possible starring vehicle for Theron, but as of this writing she is only confirmed as a producer.  The producing team is currently on the search for a writer to adapt Brenner's article.  Hit the jump for more background on Colvin.

THR provides a concise bio in their report on the option:

Colvin died in February while covering the civil war in

Syria. She was an American journalist who wrote for the British paper The Sunday Times, covering wars and conflicts from Kosovo and Chechnya to East Timor and Sri Lanka -- where she lost an eye.

Colvin specialized in Middle East affairs and was covering the Syrian uprising in a building that was being shelled by the Syrian Army when she died at age 56.

Colvin was known for her brash style and fought to bring attention to the inhuman and blood-spilling scenes she was seeing. She also endured three divorces and post-traumatic stress disorder.

You can read the source article at Vanity Fair.  This is not Brenner's first piece to inspire a film; Michael Mann and Eric Roth adapted her article "The Man Who Knew Too Much" for The Insider.