Bryce Dallas Howard suffers The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond

You’re a first time director taking on a previously undiscovered Tennessee Williams script. Name the one thing you don’t want to happen… No, not having Bigfoot rampage through your set: losing your lead actress.

But that was the challenge facing actress-turned director Jodie Markell recently, after Lindsay Lohan decided to put her health first and drop out of The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond to check into rehab. But Markell looks like she’s on the trail of a solid replacement, as Bryce Dallas Howard is in talks to step into the breach.

And it’s not like Markell doesn’t have a quality cast already – David Strathairn, Ellen Burstyn and Fantastic Four’s Chris Evans are already signed up to star in the tale of a rebellious socialite (Howard) who desperately wants to escape the world of society balls and her father’s greed.

If she gets her leading lady, Markell plans to shoot in Louisiana later this year.

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