'Twilight' Author Stephenie Meyer To Produce 'Austenland' Film

Meyer's love of Jane Austen can be seen throughout 'The Twilight Saga.'
By Terri Schwartz

Stephenie Meyer
Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images

With the final two "Twilight Saga" films on the horizon, author Stephenie Meyer is ready to sink her teeth into some non-vampire projects. Meyer will produce the Jane Austen-inspired "Austenland," an adaptation of the Shannon Hale novel that will be directed by newcomer Jerusha Hess.

Heat Vision has the news of Meyer's involvement, reporting that filming begins this week in the U.K. The movie is about a woman whose obsession with Mr. Darcy is so strong it is ruining her love life, so she ends up going to an Austen-themed resort in England and inevitably falls for the Mr. Darcy actor at Austenland. The cast so far includes Keri Russell, J.J. Field, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Seymour, Rupert Vansittart and James Callis.

Meyer has been a longtime fan of Austen's work and credited the author's "Sense and Sensibility" character Mr. Edward Ferrars with the decision to name her leading man Edward. In addition, "Twilight" was inspired by Austen's "Pride and Prejudice," to the point that main character Bella is reading the novel during the story and often compares her relationship with Edward to Elizabeth Bennet's relationship with Mr. Darcy.

This will only be the fourth film Meyer has produced and the first outside adaptations of her own works. The two "Breaking Dawn" movies were her first venture into producing, and now she is also attached to produce the upcoming adaptation of her book "The Host." But she also had a chance behind the camera thanks to one of her favorite bands, Jack's Mannequin, back in 2008.

In addition to being influenced by classic romances, Meyer often cites inspiration from music. Singer/songwriter Andrew McMahon took her appreciation for his band Jack's Mannequin a step further when he asked her to write a treatment for the music video of his song "The Resolution" and then come to Los Angeles and direct it for them.

"I'm most excited because, when I was making this album, I wanted to find someone who was really talented and get them to write a treatment and just leave it alone and let it fly. And that's exactly what we're doing here," McMahon told MTV News about his experience working with Meyer back in 2008.

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