After announcing his male lead will be Ben Affleck, David Fincher‘s adaptation of the best-selling novel GONE GIRL has found an actress to play the title character. Rosamund Pike, recently seen in WRATH OF THE TITANS, JACK REACHER, and the upcoming THE WORLD’S END, will play Amy Dunne in the multi-genre thriller:
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
Pike beat out a shortlist of actresses that included Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman, Emily Blunt, Abbie Cornish and Olivia Wilde. Fincher and producer Reese Witherspoon are also pursuing Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry for unspecified roles. You may think that Pike will have a small part but the majority of GONE GIRL is told in flashbacks. It remains to be seen if that same format will be used in the film version which was adapted for the screen by Gillian Flynn, the novelist herself.
GONE GIRL has the potential to be another THE GAME for Fincher, one of my favorite films of his. Hopefully this cast continues to round out nicely. Filming is expected to begin this Septemeber for what would likely be a 2014 release.