Jennifer Lawrence To Make Directorial Debut With ‘Project Delirium’

By Rosemary Vega on November 25, 2015@rosevega

Jennifer Lawrence has starred in a few box office franchises (“Hunger Games” and “X-Men”), is the highest paid actress in Hollywood, has won an Oscar, and is currently writing a screenplay with Amy Schumer, but the sky’s the limit for the Kentucky native, and she already has her sights set on her next project –directing.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Lawrence said, “I’d also like to direct a comedy. I have wanted to direct as long as I’ve wanted to act. I just don’t talk about it because I’d rather just do it. I’ve signed on to direct something called ‘Project Delirium’ — it’s based on this article about mental warfare in the ’60s, like an acid experiment gone terribly wrong.”

The article she is referring to is the New Yorker’s 2012 piece “Operation Delirium.” As Deadline points out, although her mention of wanting to direct a comedy seems as though it would be tied to the project, it probably isn’t. The subject matter is actually quite dark. The article, written by Raffi Khatchadourian, tells the story of Colonel James S. Ketchum. The psychiatrist by training conducted experiments on U.S. soldiers in Maryland between 1960-1969. The experiments tested psycho chemicals that temporarily incapacitated the minds of soldiers. Drugs sampled included LSD, BZ, VX, and marijuana.

Deadline reports that the film will be directed and produced by Lawrence, with her partners Justine Ciarrocchi, Todd Wagner and Ben Cosgrove also producing. While no further details about the film have been revealed, Lawrence added that now seems like the right time. The 25-year-old said, “It’s funny, I’ve wanted to direct since I was 16 and always thought I should start making steps towards that. If I had tried to do it earlier, I wouldn’t have been ready. Now I actually feel ready.”