“Quiet” No Longer – ‘Serena’ Being Shown to Distributors

Anything to do with either Jennifer Lawrence or Bradley Cooper doesn’t tend to stay low-key for long these days. THR is reporting that CAA is “quietly” shopping Serena, a depression-era drama starring the pair, to distributors, but as it comes hot on the heels of of last year’s indie success Silver Linings Playbook and roughly coincides with their appearances in American Hustle (both films directed by David O. Russell), we feel pretty comfortable saying the film’s coming in with about as much subtlety as a marching band. Both the Weinstein Company, who distributed Silver Linings Playbook, and Fox Searchlight are already said to be interested, and there will almost certainly be a number of other suitors.

We will say that thus far Serena has been about as quiet as is possible. The picture finished shooting late May 2012, so it was a bit of a surprise that it didn’t make it’s way to theaters this year. The delay is apparently due to extended time in the edit bay rather than more troubling issues of quality usually associated with a lengthy post-production, and as THR reports both the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals have already reached out to include Serena, we’re willing to believe it until we have a chance to judge for ourselves.

Serena was helmed by Danish director Susanne Bier, who is probably best known stateside for the moderately well received Benicio Del Toro/Halle Berry starrer Things Lost in the Fire. She also directed After the Wedding, which received a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination in 2007, and In A Better World, which won the category in 2011. Serena sticks with Bier’s well-established interest in heavy couples relational dramas, as the story deals with the fallout between a timber tycoon and his wife. When it’s discovered she’s infertile, the very capable Serena (Jennifer Lawrence) grows jealous of her husband’s illegitimate son and sets out to kill him. The film is an adaptation of Ron Rash’s novel by the same name. Christopher Kyle (Alexander, K-19 – The Widowmaker) handled the screenplay.

Producers Ben Cosgrove, Mark Cuban, Todd Wagner, Paula Mae Schwartz, Steve Schwartz, and Nick Wechsler add to the behind-the-camera credos. They’ve worked together in various combinations in the past, and have collectively been involved on projects such as The Tree of Life, Killing Them Softly, and Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie.