Jennifer Lawrence Will Direct PROJECT DELIRIUM: "Like An Acid Experiment Gone Terribly Wrong"

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence already has a hell of a career under her belt at the age of 25, and she's about to add one more title to her impressive resume: Director. In an interview with EW, Lawrence revealed that not only does she want to direct, she's actually already signed on for her directorial debut:

“I’d also like to direct a comedy. I have wanted to direct as long as I’ve wanted to act. I just don’t talk about it because I’d rather just do it.

I’ve signed on to direct something called Project Delirium — it’s based on this article about mental warfare in the ’60s, like an acid experiment gone terribly wrong.

It’s funny, I’ve wanted to direct since I was 16 and always thought I should start making steps towards that. If I had tried to do it earlier, I wouldn’t have been ready. Now I actually feel ready.”

The article she mentions is this one, an extensive New Yorker piece called Operation Delirium that, as CS puts it, "focuses on the chemical warfare experiments conducted by Colonel James S. Ketchum at the Edgewood military facility in Maryland from 1960 to 1969 in which he tested over 5000 volunteer U.S. soldiers with dangerous 'incapacitating agents' including LSD, BZ and marijuana. The goal was to try to figure out a means to neutralize an enemy without killing them, although most of the Edgewood test subjects were not checked in on in the ensuing years for lasting mental damage caused by the experiments." Sounds like it could go a number of different ways, and managing tone is one of the key components to directing, so we'll see how she does with this material.

Lawrence has worked with some pretty stellar filmmakers so far, including David O. Russell and Bryan Singer, so hopefully she's picked up some skills from them and can put them to good use. I wonder if she'll end up starring in Project Delirium as well as acting it it? I suspect we'll find out soon enough; if she's ready to talk about this movie in the press, it must be fairly far along in the development process.

This also raises another interesting question: given her desire to direct comedies, will she end up directing the film she's currently writing with new pal Amy Schumer? That would be very cool to see.

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