Scarlett Johansson's long-gestating directorial debut, coming by way of a lost Truman Capote novel, has received a distribution deal, it was announced Wednesday at Cannes.
The 28-year-old actress will adapt "Summer Crossing," Capote's first novel. The author famously threw it in the trash, and the book remained unpublished until 2005, after the manuscript resurfaced at a Sotheby's auction thanks to its having been discovered by an apartment janitor.
"Summer Crossing" is the story of a wealthy 17-year-old who stays behind while her family vacations in France for the summer. During that time, she embarks on a clandestine romance with a Jewish parking-lot attendant, only to later realize the intense cultural divide that exists between their families.
Johnansson worked with writer Tristine Skyler and the Capote estate to adapt the movie, Deadline.com reports. Skyler is previously responsible for "Getting to Know You," a Sundance movie based on short stories by Joyce Carol Oates, and an adaptation of "The Bell Jar" that's hanging in development limbo.
The international rights to the movie will be sold at Cannes, with CAA handling domestic distribution.
The Capote update is not the first time this year Johnasson has made news on the festival circuit. She co-stars in Joseph Gordon-Levitt's own feature-film directorial debut -- "Don Jon," a movie about a porn addict that debuted at Sundance and will see an October release. Johansson also recently wrapped an adaptation of the 2000 Michael Faber novel "Under the Skin."
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