I used to think Julia Stiles was the next big thing. That was back when she seemed to star in every Shakespeare update around (10 Things I Hate About You; Almereyda's Hamlet; O). Then she somehow became better remembered as "Nicky", the deer-in-headlights character from The Bourne Identity and its sequels. Sure her part increased through the series, but all I can think of is that line, "I can send Nicky to do that, for Chrissakes." Now, I associate her with any role that's so easy even she could do it. Which certainly seems to apply with a movie in which she's just been cast, Cry of the Owl. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stiles is replacing Sara Polley in the thriller, which makes me wonder if maybe the part is too simple for the now-very-respected Polley. "They can send 'Nicky' to do that, for Chrissakes," the actress must have thought.

Cry of the Owl is based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith (author of The Talented Mr. Ripley, which starred Bourne co-star Matt Damon) and was previously adapted by Claude Chabrol. This version will be helmed by Jamie Thraves, who directed my favorite Radiohead video, "Just", as well as videos for Blur ("Charmless Man") and Coldplay ("Scientist"; "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face"). The movie co-stars Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum) as a new guy in town who Stiles' character falls for. Problem is, he's also stalking her. Scott Speedman (who was probably looking forward to working again with Polley, his My Life Without Me co-star) plays her ex, who plots revenge for being dumped. The movie begins shooting in Toronto next week.

To be fair to Stiles, I have to admit that coming from Highsmith, Cry of the Owl may not be just another stalker thriller. Also, she has been delivering fine performances in little-seen movies like A Little Trip to Heaven and Edmond -- never mind that she also starred in The Omen remake. She's also just made her directorial debut with the short Raving and she's set to star in an adaptation of The Bell Jar. Perhaps one of these days I'll have something new, and more favorable, to associate her with.

Back in April, Ryan Stewart alerted us to the twist in the new adaptation of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. Celine Rattray, of Plum Pictures, had said: "Esther Greenwood has a strong outlook on life, and we're really looking to bring out the humor in the character. We don't want to do a depressing descent into the world of suicide." Now I can sort of buy that -- not letting the story fall only into the realm of her problems. However, now they seem to be actively pushing the serious side of depression away. Julia Stiles, who will star as Esther, recently chatted with MTV and said: "I don't think it's depressing at all. It is ABOUT depression, but I think that Sylvia Plath writes with such awesome, beautiful, vivid imagery that is so perfect for film, that it's kind of a joy."

It's not depressing "at all." After a statement like that, I have little hope for the production. While there is humor in the novel, it is about depression and about all that the protagonist goes through as she suffers from it. They must be wiping out a good portion of the book if electroshock therapy and suicide attempts aren't depressing "at all." Or, will these be funny and humorous bouts of electroshock therapy, mixed in with a song and dance number? I'm getting a big Home for Purim vibe here, but I don't think this will be even half as funny as For Your Consideration. Furthermore, yes, Plath's suicide definitely influences the tone of the book, but why shouldn't it? It's loosely autobiographical, to the point that one classmate won a lawsuit for her representation in the book, so as much as her fictional self had her future open to her, Plath killed herself a month after the novel's first publication. I'm not sure why they're reacting so strongly against the serious elements of the book. It's as if they don't realize that humor and drama can work together.

Bourne bait Julia Stiles has signed up to play Esther Greenwood in an adaptation of Sylvia Plath's classic 1963 novel The Bell Jar. Tristine Skyler, a playwright and actress whose most prominent screen credits seem to be the Dominique Swain movie The Intern and Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, is writing the thing, and Plum Pictures is producing it. Get a load of what Plum exec. Celine Rattray had to say about the project: "Esther Greenwood has a strong outlook on life, and we're really looking to bring out the humor in the character. We don't want to do a depressing descent into the world of suicide." Wow. You might want to back up and read that again. This is a book about a woman (loosely based on Plath herself) whose struggle with clinical depression is so overwhelming that it drives her to madness and leads her to be subjected to gruesome, primitive shock therapy treatments. Throughout the course of the book, she attempts suicide several times. And they're going to turn it into, what, Mrs. Doubtfire?

The producers hope to get the project going next year, and no other cast members have been signed as of yet. Stiles will serve as a producer of the film, along with Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Galt Niederhoffer. The story also notes that Stiles has been trying to bring this book to the screen for several years, but why? Here's hoping that either Variety or Rattray got it wrong about the whole "uplifting" angle, which is so laughable that I'm sure the Plath estate will go bananas when they catch wind of it. The last big-screen adaptation of The Bell Jar was back in 1979.