While we may not be seeing Richard Linklater’s next film until next April now, it appears that he’s zeroing in on his next next film at the moment. Per Deadline, Linklater is Sony Pictures’ top choice to direct The Rosie Project, a movie that was previously set up for Phil Lord and Chris Miller to helm, and which just gained a high-profile lead actress in Jennifer Lawrence a few weeks ago. It’s still early days, but Sony is keen on the Boyhood filmmaker teaming up with Lawrence to get the long-gestating project off the ground.
Based on the book by Graeme Simison, the story centers on a professor of genetics who embarks on a project to help find him to the perfect partner, using a very specifically designed questionnaire. He is thrown for a loop when Rosie Jarman, who fills none of the criteria of the woman he should technically be with, stumbles into his life. (500) Days of Summer and The Fault in Our Stars screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber wrote the script, and this was being developed as a directorial vehicle for Lord and Miller before they had to officially depart after signing on to helm the Star Wars Han Solo movie.
There’s no guarantee that Linklater will direct this one—he’s choosy about his projects and will only make films for which he has a significant degree of creative control—but the actress/director pairing is an intriguing one to say the least. We learned in February that Linklater was in talks to helm an adaptation of the bestselling novel Where’d You Go Bernadette (also scripted by Neustadter & Weber) for Annapurna Pictures, but the status of his involvement with that project is unknown at this time. Rosie has one of the biggest stars in the world committed, so it is no doubt a priority for Sony, and it’s clear they’re aiming high in terms of directors. Will Linklater sign on? We should hopefully find out soon enough.
