J.J. Abrams Sets ‘Outlander’ Director Anna Foerster To Direct ‘Lou’
J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions has had a hand in some truly exciting projects over the past few years, ranging from megabudget juggernauts likeStar Wars: The Force Awakensto scrappy but impressive thrillers like10 Cloverfield Lane. So when they set their sights on another new film, it’s reason to sit up and pay attention.OutlanderdirectorAnna Foersterhas just been set to helmLou, a dramatic thriller about the search for a kidnapped child. The screenplay byMaggie McGowan Cohnlanded onthe 2015 Black Listof the best unproduced screenplays.Mashablereports Abrams will produceLouwithBraden Aftergood(Hell or High Water). The story description from last year’s Black List reads as follows: “An elderly woman who hacks out a rough existence on a remote island is forced to help her dimwitted neighbor rescue her daughter from her ex who has kidnapped her and run off into the woods.” (In case you were wondering, there doesn’t appear to be any sci-fi or monster element, so we can probably rule out the possibility of this one being revealed asCloverfield 4.) No start date or release date has been announced.
Foerster boasts a 20-year career that includes close collaborations with Roland Emmerich on films likeIndependence Day(in the VFX department),The Day After Tomorrow(as second unit director), andAnonymousandWhite House Down(as cinematographer). As a director, her credits include episodes ofCriminal Minds,Madam Secretary, and most famouslyOutlander. She makes her movie directing debut onUnderworld: Blood Wars, out next year. Also on her plate isa sequel toSource Code, Duncan Jones' 2011 sci-fi thriller.
Louseems like the latest example of Abrams putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to inclusivity. Earlier this year,Bad Robot instituted a policythat requires women and people of color to be submitted as candidates for jobs with the company in line with their proportion of the U.S. population. Abrams cited the #OscarsSoWhite controversy as “a wake-up call” that spurred him and his company into action.
Even before that rule was put into place, Abrams' commitment to diversity was reflected in films likeStar Wars: The Force Awakens, which features a female protagonist and black and Latino co-leads. We’ll also see it in action in the upcomingGod Particle, which features a black director and a multiculural cast including two black leads. AsGod Particlestar David Oyelowoput it, Abrams “has taken it upon himself to be the change that he now wants to see.”
WithUnderworld: Blood Warson her resume andLouandSource Code 2on her to-do list, Foerster could be on track to become the rare female director with actual studio filmmaking experience. Such directors are in short supply, as we learned whenLucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy indicatedthat although she wanted to hire a woman to helm aStar Warsmovie, “you can’t come into them with essentially no experience.”
