James Mangold tapped to direct Patty Hearst movie

Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Filmmaker James Mangold will direct a film about kidnapped publishing heiress Patty Hearst, adapted from Jeffrey Toobin's 2016 book American Heiress.

The director of Logan and Walk the Line is taking on the project for Fox 2000, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Filmmakers are reportedly negotiating with Elle Fanning to star as Hearst, the University of California, Berkeley, sophomore kidnapped in the 1970s and detained for two years by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Hearst eventually joined the group of militant revolutionaries and participated in a number of their criminal schemes.

Timing of the project comes on the heels of the Mangold-directed Logan, the X-Men film that earned earned more than $616 million worldwide. Fanning's latest big roles include last year's The Neon Demon and 20th Century Women, as well as the 2014 film Maleficent.

Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Hearst film and Mangold will also join producers Nina Jacobsen and Brad Simpson of Colorforce, Variety reported.