Time magazine called WWII secret agent Betty Pack “A Blonde Bond” in her obituary — and now actress Jennifer Lawrence is the early favorite of Sony Studios to play the “spy who changed the entire course of the war” in a film based on New York Times Bestselling author Howard Blum’s nonfiction account of Pack’s life, Page Six reports.
The Last Goodnight is described as a riveting biography of Betty Pack, who was hailed by OSS chief General “Wild Bill” Donovan as “the greatest unsung heroine of the war.” The suspense adventure will be available on April 12, 2016, by HarperCollins with a first printing of 100,000. Sony’s Columbia TriStar Pictures bought the film rights for a hefty six-figure sum and Mark Gordon (Saving Private Ryan, Steve Jobs and the TV series Ray Donovan) will be producing. The book’s title comes from a tip the CIA passes on to its new agents: “The last person to whom you say good night is the most dangerous.”
Time wrote that Betty used the bedroom as Bond “uses a Beretta.” Jennifer’s A-list status certainly comes with cool-chick credentials, which makes her a charming choice to play the femme fatale. Lawrence has earned several accolades for her works, most especially from her collaborations with director David O. Russell. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress in the romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook. She also earned a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the dark comedy American Hustle. Her performance as Miracle Mop creator Joy Mangano garnered a Golden Globe Award for the 2015 biopic Joy.
America’s Sweetheart is not without controversy. In 2014, Lawrence was one of the victims of the iCloud celebrity-photo leaks. Many personal nude photos of Lawrence were posted online, and she called the leak a “sex crime” and a “sexual violation.”
The Kentucky-born actress is also an outspoken feminist — having expressed her anger at Hollywood’s gender pay gap, and most recently calling for the industry to embrace the “new normal” body type. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Lawrence spoke out against what she sees as unfair expectations on female body types.
“I would like us to make a new normal-body type,” she told Harper’s. “Everybody says, ‘We love that there is somebody with a normal body!’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t feel like I have a normal body.’ I do Pilates every day. I eat, but I work out a lot more than a normal person.”
The starlet, who uses her A-list status to speak out on issues of discrimination, believes the emphasis on being thin has fostered an unhealthy outlook on what should be normal.
“I think we’ve gotten so used to underweight that when you are a normal weight it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, she’s curvy,’” Lawrence said. “Which is crazy. The bare minimum, just for me, would be to up the ante. At least so I don’t feel like the fattest one,” she added.
Lawrence channels her positivity and universal appeal through her Jennifer Lawrence Foundation, which supports charities such as the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, Special Olympics, and Do Something. The non-profit organization motivates “young people, artists and the organizations that serve them,” to take action around social changes, according to the website.
Earlier this year, JLaw was asked by Glamour magazine if she’s still motivated by any part of her Kentucky personality.
“My cousin and I were talking last night about what we wanted to do with our dead bodies. And I’m like, ‘I want my ashes scattered on Lake Cumberland.’ And when I said it out loud, I was like, ‘Wow. You really are still rooted in your redneck [ways].’ [Laughs.] But basically it’s a certain grit. Everything’s very family oriented. Nobody knows or cares about designers. I care! But I didn’t used to,” she explained
Jennifer Lawrence is set to star in Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming untitled thriller with Javier Bardem as a possible co-star, according to Variety. The film centers on a tranquil couple whose relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive and disrupt their home. It is set for release in 2017.
