It's a good day for Jovanka Vuckovic, as well as for strong women in film overall. According to Variety, Vuckovic will adapt Clive Barker's tale Jacqueline Ess: Her Will And Testament, part of his Books of Blood series.
Game of Thrones star Lena Headey, known for her fierce roles in 300 and Dredd, will star in addition to co-producing along with Vuckovic. This winter, it became news that Raven Banner Entertainment optioned the story, with Barker's Seraphim Films set to executive produce.
Clive Barker is happy about the choice of director: "Jovanka Vuckovic's vision for Jacqueline Ess is at once devastating and beautiful," he states. "Let there be no question: this is the film she was born to make."
The news comes not long after Vuckovic was officially announced as one of the directors to be included in XYZ Films' all-female horror anthology, XX. This is will be the first feature from Vuckovic, whose credits include the award-winning short, The Captured Bird, executive produced by another genre heavyweight, Guillermo del Toro.
Adds Vuckovic: "I have coveted Jacqueline Ess for many years. And for as many years, I have imagined Lena Headey in the role, so I am absolutely thrilled that she and I will be teaming up to bring Clive's phantasmagoric, feminist body horror story to life onscreen." Jacqueline Ess tells the story of a woman who, after attempting suicide, develops the power to change people with gruesome results. The film goes into production in late 2014.