Jodie Foster Set to Direct 'Money Monster,' Switch from Family Films to Hostage Thriller

Oscar Award winning actress-turned-movie director Jodie Foster is set to direct the upcoming hostage thriller "Money Monster." The 49-year-old Hollywood starlet has a fairly minor role in the world of directing compared to her extravagant filmography, producing just three family-themed films since 1991. Looks like the "Silence of the Lambs" star is now ready to bring her darker side (exuded in front of the camera in so many of her hit films) behind-the-scenes to the set of the upcoming thriller "Money Monster."

Foster is set to direct "Money Monster," a financial media thriller. Little information has been provided about the film, but it follows the tribulations of popular financial television show host Lee Gates who gets taken hostage on live television by a viewer who lost everything thanks to a bad tip from Gates. Of course the morbid nature of the "live" broadcast causes the show's ratings to skyrocket.

Foster previously directed three films that could be considered mostly family-tales - 1991′s Little Man Tate (which follows the story of a mother and her genius son),1995′s Home for the Holidays (dysfunctional family's wild Thanksgiving holiday), and 2011′s The Beaver  (a tale that traces how one man's twisted psyche affects his entire family.

Filming for "Money Monster" is set to kick-off in early 2013, right around the time when Foster will star in the sci-fi thriller Elysium (out March 1, 2013). No actors or actresses have yet to be cast for "Money Monster."