We suppose we should have seen this one coming after yesterday’s news about Jennifer Lawrence’s departure from the lead, but word has now arrived that director Richard Linklater has similarly left **The Rosie Project{
Linklater took over the pic from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who had been developing it alongside approximately 74 other possibilities on film and TV, before they moved on to concentrate on their Star Wars duties. The script arrived via **(500) Days Of Summer **writing duo Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who had been busy tailoring the main role for Lawrence.
Written by Graham Simison, the book tells the story of professor Don Tillman, a genetics expert on the Asperger’s scale who never seems to be able to land a second date. He starts The Wife Project, working up a questionnaire to find the perfect partner, but is instead entranced by the free-spirited Rosie Jarman, who matches none of his criteria but might just be his soul mate. A sequel tome, The Rosie Effect, arrived last year. We’re certain it’ll attract other talented film types both in front of and behind the camera, but for now it has the Help Wanted sign out.
The director has enough to focus on anyway – he’s busy editing his latest, Everybody Wants Some and has various scripts in development, including Where’d You Go, Bernadette. He has also agreed to direct at least one episode of the TV series spun off from his 2003 film School Of Rock.