Last month we told you the exciting news of Kirsten Dunst’s directorial debut - a remake of Sylvia Plath’s celebrated novel, The Bell Jar. And now The Metro has shed some interesting insight into what the film might entail.
The paper reports that Dunst spoke about the upcoming project - without revealing the name of the film - on The Nerdist Podcast back in October.
Confirming that her directorial debut would be based on a well-loved book, she said: ‘It’s a kind of thing that we could keep rearranging and make better - there’s so much freedom...I’m directing it so I enjoy it just because I get to write exactly what I want to see and I think that the way I’m approaching it is very funny so it’s going to be a dark comedy.’
We now know Dakota Fanning is set to the play the lead role, but will Dunst make an acting appearance? Sadly not.
Dunst said she ‘wouldn’t do that to’ herself.
‘That’s a lot of work, and it’s also, I hate when I watch movies actors direct and they put themselves in it it,’ she explained. ‘I’m not into it.’
**Earlier we wrote… **
This might just be our favourite film news of the year so far – that Kirsten Dunst is making her directorial debut. But wait, it gets better... Because the film she's directing is an adaptation of the world famous novel by Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar, and is set to star Dakota Fanning in the lead role.
We. Know.
Not only that, but Kirsten actually co-wrote the script too, alongside her pal Nellie Kim. This of course means the resulting film will be almost entirely of her own making. No small project!
Set in the 1950s, The Bell Jar tells the story of Esther Greenwood, a young woman who accepts an internship at a New York magazine. A role so often considered the pinnacle of glamourous, Esther finds that conversely she struggles to be excited by it. She returns to her home in Massachusetts, where her mental state worsens and she falls into a severe depression, a state she describes as feeling trapped under a bell jar.
The production of the film is set to commence early next year, which means we probably won't get to see the finished flick till 2018 at the earliest. It's a hugely long time away, yes, but some things are worth waiting for – we're certain this will be.
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