New movie 'Jane Austen Wrecked My Life' celebrates novelist with legions of fans

HOLLYWOOD (KABC) -- This year marks the 250th anniversary of author Jane Austen's birth. The renowned English novelist, primarily known for six books, still has legions of fans around the world. There have been plenty of films and TV projects made connected to Austen.

But the title of the latest movie captured my attention immediately: "Jane Austen Wrecked My Life." Camille Rutherford is the film's star.

"Honestly, I would have felt so sad if the script wasn't as good as the title," said Rutherford. "And it was."

Rutherford plays a woman who works in a Paris bookshop in "Jane Austen Wrecked My Life." She dreams of one day becoming a writer herself, if she could just get over her writer's block.

"I think we can all relate to her because she's so insecure and we all have moments in our lives when we have doubt about everything," said Rutherford.

When she's invited to the Jane Austen Writers' Residency in England, her life will change--for a variety of reasons, romance being just one of them.

Could it possibly involve Austen's great great great great nephew? Director Laura Piani explains.

"I wanted to do a rom-com about a woman who will also find her own voice, more than anything else. So, the love story is important but it's not the most important thing in that story. The most important thing is her facing her desire to write. If you love rom-com and you read Jane, then you realize that she really opened the way for rom-coms. She created the genre, you know? And she was an inspiration for so many writers and script writers and directors," Piani said.

"Jane Austen Wrecked My Life" is in theaters now. It's a mix of English and French with English sub-titles.