Elizabeth Banks To Front Alan Ball's What's The Matter With Margie

More enticing news out of Cannes: comedienne Elizabeth Banks has just signed on to star in True Blood creator Alan Ball's next feature What's The Matter With Margie? Deadline reports Ball, who won an Oscar for his original screenplay American Beauty, penned the feature and is on board to produce; Daniel Minahan, who has helmed numerous episodes of True Blood's including its upcoming season five premiere, will direct.

What's The Matter With Margie? centers on a bullied office-worker who—after years of abuse and mockery—finally snaps and decides to murder her tormentors. On it's surface, it may seem a story too dark to be funny, but Ball has shown a real gift for macabre humor, both on True Blood and the funeral home-based Six Feet Under, which he also created. For her part, Banks seems ideal casting for the put-upon Margie. She's got an easy affability that may help smooth the edges of the heroine's homicidal urges, and her pitch-perfect comedic timing should spark with Ball's signature sharp dialogue.

It's about time Banks got a shot at a leading role in a comedy. She's long been forced to share the spotlight with schlubby leading men (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) or cluttered ensembles (What to Expect When You're Expecting). Of course Banks has been offering solidly funny performances in supporting roles since she played the slutty, BBQ-sauced Linsday in Wet Hot American Summer, yet somehow she hasn't gotten a real shot at her own comedy. Maybe it was her Emmy-nominated turn as the frighteningly fierce Avery Jessup on 30 Rock or her eye-catching turn as the snooty bu sparkling Effie Trinket in the record-breaking blockbuster The Hunger Gamesthat's finally drawn her the notice needed to score such a promising lead. Regardless, it's a relief to see Banks get the kind of role she's so long deserved.

What's The Matter With Margie? will go into production in Los Angeles in early 2013.