The film is based on John Carreyrou’s 2018 nonfiction book “Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley,” about the rise and fall of the multibillion-dollar Silicon Valley startup that set out to revolutionize blood tests but unraveled as Holmes was eventually convicted of four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy (out of 11 federal charges). Lawrence will be the first actress to portray Holmes on the big screen, though her story has been memorably brought to life in the podcast “The Dropout” and Alex Gibney’s documentary “The Inventor.” McKay recently told Insider that Lawrence has already begun work on nailing that particularly unique accent of Holmes’.
“You know, I haven’t made her do it for me yet,” McKay said. “She said she’s been working on it. She’s about to have a baby so I’m not going to bug her right now but she’s born to play that role. With the voice, she said she’s feeling it. She’s excited.” The project was first announced in January 2021, with McKay set to direct, write, and produce the film alongside fellow producers Kevin Messick, Justine Polsky, Jennifer Lawrence, and Will Ferrell. Apple Original Films is now set to back the project. Elsewhere on the Holmes front, Kate McKinnon was set to play her but exited a Hulu limited series adaptation of “The Dropout” last year, with Amanda Seyfried stepping in to take on the role. The series premieres March 3. IndieWire recently spoke with Adam McKay about his end-times Netflix smash hit, “Don’t Look Up,” in which Lawrence plays a burgeoning scientist trying to tell an indifferent world about an impending climate disaster. “The movie’s obviously about the climate crisis, but it also happens to be lining up with the collapse of American democracy within the next three years, and this towering income inequality,” he said. “The government and the media are so tone-deaf to it. You have this perfect storm of a freakout that a lot of people are feeling.” “Don’t Look Up” quickly shot to the top of Netflix charts, becoming the streaming giant’s second most-watched original movie after it was released on Christmas Eve last year. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
