Director David O. Russell and his leading lady Jennifer Lawrence attend a November screening of their film "Silver Linings Playbook."
David O. Russell, the Oscar-nominated director of "Silver Linings Playbook," will reunite with leading lady Jennifer Lawrence for a film in which the actress will portray a former Oklahoma first lady.
Multiple trade magazines on Tuesday evening were reporting that Russell (nominated previously for "The Fighter" as well) has agreed to direct "The Ends of the Earth."
The previously announced film - likely a 2014 or 2015 release - would star Lawrence and be written by Chris Terrio, the screenwriter of best-picture nominee "Argo."
Both Lawrence and Terrio are among the favorites to win Academy Awards this Sunday for their respective movies.
Lawrence, who played Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games," will star in a romantic drama as Lydie Marland - the woman who was the niece, and then the adopted daughter, and later the wife of oilman Ernest Marland, Oklahoma's 10th governor.
The Weinstein Company (which made "Silver Linings Playbook" with Lawrence and Russell) has described the film as "the epic love story, based on true events (as) powerful oil tycoon Ernest Marland loses everything after engaging in a controversial love affair with his adopted daughter Lydie."
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Russell said of his star: "Jennifer possesses a self-deprecating humor that made all of the cast and crew feel at ease. She is that kind of person.
"She is the most dedicated person I know. She is devoted to her family and they have been the true inspiration for her character and integrity. Her acting is effortless and she always makes it look easy."
The character of Lydie in a film is likely to be an enigmatic one, considering her connections to Marland, who served as a U.S. representative from Oklahoma in 1932-34 and as governor from 1934-1938.
Records show that Lydie and her brother moved to Ponca City in 1910 to live with Marland and his first wife, whose sister was the children's mother.
The children's Pennsylvania parents were poor, and four years later they allowed the children to be adopted by the Marlands, who provided the siblings with private schooling and worldwide travel.
Marland's wife died in 1926, and two years later the 54-year-old Marland had Lydie's adoption set aside so that he could marry the 26-year-old.
Sensational media stories of an oil baron marrying his daughter reportedly sent Lydie into a depressed state of health, postponing the wedding for months.
Marland's oil empire was reportedly lost during the Wall Street crash of 1929. He later entered politics and was elected to Congress in 1932 and as governor in 1934. Lydie was the state's first lady, but she chose to have little public presence to protect her privacy.
When Marland died of cancer in 1941, Lydie is said to have lived the life of a recluse until one day in 1953, when she loaded up a car and drove away from Ponca City, disappearing for 22 years because she reportedly didn't feel accepted by the townspeople.
