Originally announced in 2012, Lionsgate’s adaptation of Jeanette Walls’ bestselling memoir The Glass Castle has long had Jennifer Lawrence attached to star, but that changes today as The Hollywood Reporter says Brie Larson (Trainwreck, The Gambler) is in talks to replace her as the lead after a crowded dance card of projects and a languishing development forced Lawrence to drop out.
Should the deal go through, The Glass House will mark the first time Larson has reunited with director Destin Cretton after her breakout role in his 2013 indie hit Short Term 12.
The 2006 source material is officially described as follows:
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever. Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town—and the family—Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents’ betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
Marti Noxon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Fright Night) initially adapted the film’s screenplay with Cretton, with Nicholl Fellowship-winning screenwriter Andrew Lanham performing additional rewrites.
Larson will be seen in theaters next week in the Toronto International Film Festival hit Room, with supporting roles in Legendary’s blockbuster Kong: Skull Island and Todd Solondz’s Welcome to the Dollhouse sequel Weiner-Dog.
