Jessica Chastain clarifies why she’s ‘NOT doing’ film adaptation of Evelyn Hugo book
Jessica Chastain clarifies her recent admission that she is “not doing” the film adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
Fans have rallied for the Academy Award winner, 46, to star in the period drama, which follows an old Hollywood star as she lays out her life story in a final interview with an unknown reporter.
In particular, many hoped that she would play Celia St. James, who is also a famous actress and the titular character’s secret lover.
In a conversation with Andy Cohen in January, Chastain acknowledged the online chatter. “Sure, send me a script,” she teased.
But in a now-viral TikTok clip captured on Tuesday, she is seen politely refusing to sign a copy of the novel, telling the fan, “I can’t sign that just because I don’t.”
So Chastain took to Twitter on Wednesday to explain her reasoning, and to rectify her attachment to the film.
A little clarification: Jessica Chastain clarifies her recent admission that she is “not doing” the film adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo; seen in March
Chastain took to Twitter on Wednesday to explain her reasoning and to rectify her attachment to the movie.
“I have been asked by fans several times to sign books to which I am not contractually bound,” her tweet began.
“Because it feels wrong, and as if I’m taking credit for someone else’s work, I’ll say I can’t draw because I don’t.”
Chastain continued, “That doesn’t mean I read a bad script. I know how excited many of you are about adjustments. Please don’t read too much into a video. There is no news about it except that I will be on stage until June 10th. Hope to see you #ADollsHouse.”
The Help actress is currently starring in Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House on Broadway.
Chastain stars as Nora Helmer in the reimagined story that focuses on the lives of a group of middle-class Norwegians in 1879.
Themes in the production include appearances, the power of money and the place of women in a patriarchal society.
Nora is a wife and mother forced to question everything in her highly structured life.
The play premiered on March 9, just days before she and Halle Berry present the Best Actress award at the Oscars.
In an interview with PBS, the Zero Dark Thirty star explained her approach to the character.
“I was trying to figure out how Nora was in control of the situation. So even if she’s playing innocent or playing victim or playing helpless, it’s still a choice she’s making,” Chastain argued.
“And she’s still kind of, in important ways, the director and director of the proceedings, even though she gets what she wants by playing some sort of traditional woman.”
The story is told without the use of props, except chairs, which initially worried the actress.
“I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And it was very hard for me to imagine.’
Source Material: Fans have rallied for the Academy Award winner, 46, to star in the period drama, which follows an old Hollywood star as she lays out her life story in a final interview with an unknown reporter
In a now-viral TikTok clip captured on Tuesday, she is seen politely refusing to sign a copy of the novel, telling the fan, “I can’t sign that just because I don’t”
However, she took a lot of selfies!
Broadway, baby! The Help actress is currently starring in Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House on Broadway; seen on March 9
The Guardian called her performance “engaging” and the New York Times called the production an “amazing breakthrough coup” and called it a Critics Pick.
Chastain didn’t sit still and made three different projects before taking the stage.
A Mother’s Instinct, starring Anne Hathaway, is out in September. The Division starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Memory starring Peter Sarsgaard will premiere later this year.
A Doll’s House runs through June 10 at the Hudson Theater.