EXCLUSIVE: Ten-time Grammy winner and two-time Oscar winning songwriter Billie Eilish is in advanced talks to make her acting movie debut in an adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s classic novel, The Bell Jar, we can confirm.
Oscar winner Sarah Polley, known for movies including Women Talking and Away From Her and for writing series Alias Grace, is attached to direct the feature, which Focus Features is closing a deal to back and distribute in the U.S.
Pic is being produced by Joy Gorman Wettels (Little House on the Prairie, 13 Reasons Why), Plan B Entertainment, and StudioCanal. Gorman Wettels originated the project through her company Joy Coalition, packaging the project with Eilish and Polley and partnering with Plan B and StudioCanal ahead of Focus boarding.
The Bell Jar is the only novel written by American writer and poet Plath. Originally published in 1963, the semi-autobiographical work charts a young woman’s descent into mental illness and the burden of societal pressures. The book paralleled Plath’s own experiences with depression; the writer tragically died by suicide just a month after the novel’s first UK publication. In the U.S., the book became an instant best-seller, and has since been translated into more than forty languages.
The material feels like a good fit for dark pop queen Eilish, known for her soulful and introspective lyrics and songs.
Eilish won Best Original Song Oscars in 2022 for No Time To Die and in 2024 for Barbie. Aged only 22 in 2024, she became the youngest two-time Oscar winner in history and is the only Oscar winner born in the 21st Century.
The only significant previous film adaptation of the movie came in 1979 when Larry Peerce directed Marilyn Hassett and Julie Harris.
Julia Stiles was attached to star in a version in 2007 but it ultimately didn’t come to pass. Likewise, Kirsten Dunst was attached to direct a version with Dakota Fanning a decade later but that also fell by the wayside. It was reported in 2019 that Showtime was developing a series version with Frankie Shaw but that was soon abandoned too.
The project and Eilish’s potential involvement was teased today by The Insneider. Here is the confirmation and details, which have been in the works for a while.
Eilish is represented by WME and Sandbox Entertainment. Polley is represented by WME, GGA, and Circle Management. Gorman Wettels is repped by Nina Shaw at Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang.
