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Lionsgate is in negotiations to pick up Burial Rites, the Jennifer Lawrence–Gary Ross package for the adaptation of the Hannah Kent novel, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Rites marks a reunion for the star and director of the original Hunger Games installment with the studio that made the movie. Additionally, Allison Shearmur, the former exec who was overseeing the franchise, is on board as a producer for Rites.
PHOTOS: ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ Cast Heats Up Cannes
The package went out last week and naturally generated considerable heat.
Kent’s novel, published in early September, is inspired by the true story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, one of the last two people executed (by beheading, no less) in Iceland for a murder committed in 1928. The book details Magnúsdóttir’s last days, when she is sent to an isolated farm to await her execution. She develops a bond with a priest and eventually the family that houses her, who learn there is another side to her story.
Lawrence would portray the murderess while Ross would direct the movie.
This is the second project for which Lawrence and Ross are reteaming. Two weeks ago, the two set up a new telling of East of Eden at Universal.
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