Lena Headey, known for her many acting credits (Game of Thrones, 300, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dredd, and Gunpowder Milkshake among them) is set to make her first feature film as director.
Headey will be at the helm of a psychological thriller titled Violet, based on the well-received 2019 novel of the same name by SJI Holliday. Deadline broke the news, reporting that Headey will direct from a screenplay adaptation penned by Gareth Pritchard, making his sophomore screenplay following 2012 crime-drama Wasteland.
The book’s plot tells of two women who, for different reasons, find themselves travelling alone. They two meet and quickly strike a bond, neither aware of the dark turns that lie ahead on the trip. Things begin to unravel – because neither of them is who they claim to be.
Said Headey in a statement: “Susi’s Violet is a compulsive page-turner that stayed with me long after I finished the book “” it’s exciting that my first feature as a director will be such an intense female thriller. It’s a wild ride to the finish with vast cinematic scope, centering around two very complex women who will completely unravel over the course of the film. I can’t wait to get rolling.”
Added Phil McKenzie, Chief Operating Officer at UK producer-financier Goldfinch Entertainment: “Goldfinch Entertainment exists to fuel incredible projects and creative leaps ““ and we’re excited to be supporting the multi-talented Lena Headey’s foray into feature directing with this irresistible and chilling female-fronted thriller. Gareth has deftly selected and adapted an impossible-to-put-down book into a riveting exploration of a casual friendship that goes deeply awry ““ and we can’t wait to see it come to life on screen.”
Violet is said to be in the vein of Killing Eve, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Single White Female, which certainly grabs my attention. Looking forward to seeing who Headey and co. cast in what could be quite the tense two-hander.
While this marks the first film as director for Headey, she has been at the helm before; a thirty-minute short film titled The Trap (which you can watch in full right HERE) and two music videos starring Headey’s Game of Thrones co-star, Maisie Williams (“You Mean the World to Me” for Freya Ridings and “Miracle” for Madeon).
Cameras on Violet are expected to start rolling this October.
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