With 10 Grammys and 2 Oscars for songwriting under her belt, Billie Eilish is looking for new worlds to conquer. It’s being reported that Eilish is in talks to make her big-screen debut in an adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar.
The film will be directed by Oscar winner Sarah Polley (Away From Her).
First published in 1963, The Bell Jar was the only novel by Plath, a writer and poet. It is a semi-autobiographical work that follows 19-year-old undergraduate Esther Greenwood as she embarks on a summer internship at a magazine. Feeling unstimulated by the work or the world around her, Ester begins to unravel mentally.
The novel was published in the UK just a month before Plath took her own life. Many feel it mirrors her own struggles with mental illness.
There has only been one previous film adaptation of The Bell Jar. Released in 1979, it was directed by Larry Peerce and starred Marilyn Hassett and Julie Harris.
In 2007, Julia Stiles attempted to adapt the novel but let the rights lapse due to issues with the script and funding. In 2016, Kirsten Dunst was set to direct a version of The Bell Jar with Dakota Fanning. That was reworked into a series adaptation starring Frankie Shaw for Showtime in 2019. However, none of these projects has come to pass.
We’ll keep you posted on updates about this potential new adaptation of The Bell Jar, with Eilish as the project develops.
