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Two top women directors plan new film projects

Women and Hollywood alerted us yesterday to reports of new projects on the horizon from two of the film industry’s highest profile women directors, Lisa Cholodenko and Catherine Hardwicke.

According to Deadline Hollywood, Hardwicke will direct The Bitch Posse, an adaptation of Martha O’Connor‘s debut novel from 2006.

The story chronicles the lives of three women – Rennie, Cherry and Amy – first in their senior year of high school when they formed an alliance called the Bitch Posse, then as thirtysomething adults. The point-of-view shifts from one girl to another and back and forth between 1988 and the present, as we gradually learn about “a terrible secret” that turned the trio from strong-willed best friends into estranged women with messed-up lives. Sounds a bit like Heathers grown up.

Hardwicke’s most recent project is Red Riding Hood (with Amanda Seyfried), but she is best known as director of Twilight, Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown. She obviously knows how to handle stories with an overload of teen angst.

Cholodenko’s new project couldn’t be more different. Variety reports that she is in negotiations to direct a live-action version of one of the best books of all time: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst.

If you don’t know about Alexander’s day, stop what you’re doing and go get the book, because a description can’t do it justice. The children’s book follows a little boy’s frustrations for a day that starts with waking up to find gum in his hair. Everything that can go wrong does, from a bad day at school to a trip to the dentist to lima beans for dinner. The only solution Alexander can think of is to move to Australia.

For out lesbian Cholodenko, Alexander is new territory. Besides the Oscar-nominated hit, The Kids Are All Right, she is best known for Laurel Canyon and lesbian film High Art – all decidedly adult movies. We probably won’t see Alexander making friends with a lesbian – at least not until a much better day comes along – but I’m looking forward to seeing what Cholodenko does with the story.

What do you think of these female-directed projects? Do you think the books are good candidates for film?

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