Jennifer Lawrence will star in a movie about Theranos

Deadline is reporting that Jennifer Lawrence is joining an upcoming Adam McKay drama about Theranos, the blood-testing startup that's fallen to pieces over its questionable proprietary technology, regulatory hijinx, and false advertising. Lawrence would play Elizabeth Holmes, the company's founder, and McKay would direct. It's one of McKay's first projects after winning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay (and picking up a nod for Best Director) for last year's financial drama The Big Short.

It's hard to imagine a core duo better suited to bring the Theranos saga to the big screen. Holmes is one of the most fascinating people to emerge out of Silicon Valley in recent memory, a confident and precise leader whose star rose dramatically before her company fell apart; Lawrence has the chops to bring her to life. McKay's work on The Big Shortproved he can juggle comedy, drama, and complicated conceptual fodder with relative ease. And the company's story has been filled with twists and turns right out of an original script: evading federal regulators! Years of voided test results! Government bans! Compelling dramas have been spun out of much less. The project's still early in development — it doesn't have a release date, a title, or any other announced cast members — but it's one worth watching as it develops.