Exclusive: Luckiest Girl Alive author Jessica Knoll’s new bestselling thriller novel Bright Young Women is in the works for the small screen. Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories, Erik Feig’s Picturestart and Fifth Season have acquired the rights to the book to develop as a television series. Knoll will pen the adaptation and serve as executive producer.
Inspired by true real-life events, the novel tells the story of the women whose lives were forever changed by Ted Bundy’s cross-country killing sprees. It was published September 19 by Simon & Schuster’s Marysue Rucci Books and quickly landed on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Opening on the night of Bundy’s 1978 attack on a Florida State University sorority house in the early morning hours, the novel follows sorority president Pamela Schumacher as she seeks answers to questions that remain even after four decades. It culminates in a...
Inspired by true real-life events, the novel tells the story of the women whose lives were forever changed by Ted Bundy’s cross-country killing sprees. It was published September 19 by Simon & Schuster’s Marysue Rucci Books and quickly landed on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Opening on the night of Bundy’s 1978 attack on a Florida State University sorority house in the early morning hours, the novel follows sorority president Pamela Schumacher as she seeks answers to questions that remain even after four decades. It culminates in a...
- 10/5/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Sony’s 3000 Pictures has acquired Delia Ephron’s New York Times best-selling memoir Left On Tenth. Ephron will adapt, with Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Laurence Mark producing the feature. Daryl Roth is executive producing. Ephron will simultaneously write and develop the memoir as a play for Roth to produce and Susan Stroman to direct, marking the first time both a feature and play adaptation will be developed at the same time
The memoir has Ephron at the center as she struggles through several years of heartbreak. She’d lost her sister, Nora, and then her husband, Jerry, both to cancer. She channeled her grief the best way she knew: by writing a New York Times op-ed. The piece caught the attention of Peter, a Bay Area psychiatrist, who emailed her to commiserate and reminded her that they had shared a few dates fifty-four years before. After several...
The memoir has Ephron at the center as she struggles through several years of heartbreak. She’d lost her sister, Nora, and then her husband, Jerry, both to cancer. She channeled her grief the best way she knew: by writing a New York Times op-ed. The piece caught the attention of Peter, a Bay Area psychiatrist, who emailed her to commiserate and reminded her that they had shared a few dates fifty-four years before. After several...
- 4/28/2023
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Susannah Grant’s Sex Trafficking Drama ‘Coercion’ Starring Sydney Chandler Gets Showtime Pilot Order
Showtime has given a pilot order to Coercion, a drama written and to be directed by Susannah Grant. Sydney Chandler has been cast as the lead in the project, inspired by the life of Rebecca Bender, a national leader on and survivor of sex trafficking. Wiip is producing.
Bender is one of the nation’s top experts on sex trafficking and a leading consultant for federal law enforcement on how to spot it, prosecute it and protect the victims in its web. The series will go back to when Bender herself escaped from the world of sex trafficking after six years, reflecting on her struggles to return to a “normal” life, and her emergence as a confident, funny and impassioned advocate for justice.
“Coercion is based on Rebecca Bender’s personal story of entrapment in the world of sex trafficking, her escape and...
Bender is one of the nation’s top experts on sex trafficking and a leading consultant for federal law enforcement on how to spot it, prosecute it and protect the victims in its web. The series will go back to when Bender herself escaped from the world of sex trafficking after six years, reflecting on her struggles to return to a “normal” life, and her emergence as a confident, funny and impassioned advocate for justice.
“Coercion is based on Rebecca Bender’s personal story of entrapment in the world of sex trafficking, her escape and...
- 8/23/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Susannah Grant, showrunner for Netflix’s Emmy-nominated limited series “Unbelievable” and Oscar-nominated “Erin Brockovich” screenwriter, has inked a first-look television deal with Lionsgate Television Group, chairman Kevin Beggs said today.
“Susannah has an incredible repertoire of award-winning content across television and film, which makes this partnership and its possibilities very exciting,” said Beggs in a statement. “She’s a talented creative voice and writer who can do it all, and we’re happy to welcome her to our Lionsgate family. We look forward to creating iconic, critically-acclaimed programming together for all of our platform partners.” Under the terms of the deal, Grant will create and produced scripted television content across streaming, cable and broadcast platforms exclusively for Lionsgate.
In addition to her Oscar and Emmy noms, Grant earned a BAFTA nomination and a WGA Nomination for her for “Erin Brockovich” screenplay; she received a 2020 Peabody Award, a Critic’s Choice...
“Susannah has an incredible repertoire of award-winning content across television and film, which makes this partnership and its possibilities very exciting,” said Beggs in a statement. “She’s a talented creative voice and writer who can do it all, and we’re happy to welcome her to our Lionsgate family. We look forward to creating iconic, critically-acclaimed programming together for all of our platform partners.” Under the terms of the deal, Grant will create and produced scripted television content across streaming, cable and broadcast platforms exclusively for Lionsgate.
In addition to her Oscar and Emmy noms, Grant earned a BAFTA nomination and a WGA Nomination for her for “Erin Brockovich” screenplay; she received a 2020 Peabody Award, a Critic’s Choice...
- 6/15/2021
- by Mónica Marie Zorrilla
- Variety Film + TV
Susannah Grant, the co-creator of Netflix’s Unbelievable and writer of Erin Brockovich, has struck a first-look television deal with Lionsgate.
The writer, director and producer will create and produce scripted shows across streaming, cable and broadcast for the Blindspotting and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist producer.
Grant was most recently showrunner, exec producer, writer and director on true-crime series Unbelievable, which starred Toni Collette, Merritt Wever and Kaitlyn Dever. She earned an Oscar nomination for feature film Erin Brockovich and was a writer, exec producer on the original Party of Five.
She is currently exec producing the TV adaptation of Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s novel Fleishman is in Trouble for FX. That limited series is exec produced by Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly, who also signed an overall television deal with Lionsgate earlier this year.
Elsewhere, she is exec producing Lessons in Chemistry for Apple TV+ with Michael Costigan and Brie Larson,...
The writer, director and producer will create and produce scripted shows across streaming, cable and broadcast for the Blindspotting and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist producer.
Grant was most recently showrunner, exec producer, writer and director on true-crime series Unbelievable, which starred Toni Collette, Merritt Wever and Kaitlyn Dever. She earned an Oscar nomination for feature film Erin Brockovich and was a writer, exec producer on the original Party of Five.
She is currently exec producing the TV adaptation of Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s novel Fleishman is in Trouble for FX. That limited series is exec produced by Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly, who also signed an overall television deal with Lionsgate earlier this year.
Elsewhere, she is exec producing Lessons in Chemistry for Apple TV+ with Michael Costigan and Brie Larson,...
- 6/15/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
George R.R. Martin, whose A Song of Ice and Fire saga spawned HBO’s massively successful Game of Thrones and a slew of planned spinoffs, has signed a new five-year overall deal at the premium network and its streaming sibling HBO Max.
Martin will develop content for HBO and HBO Max under the pact, announced Friday, which is said to be in the mid-eight figures. He had been under an overall deal at HBO since 2013.
Martin is co-creator and executive producer on the upcoming GoT prequel series House of the Dragon. He also is executive producing a number of other GoT prequel projects in the works at HBO and HBO Max as part of the growing franchise. They include 9 Voyages aka Sea Snake, Flea Bottom, 10,000 Ships and an adaptation of Martin’s Tales of Dunk & Egg novellas — all for HBO — as well as a possible GoT animated series, which is a possibility for HBO Max.
Martin will develop content for HBO and HBO Max under the pact, announced Friday, which is said to be in the mid-eight figures. He had been under an overall deal at HBO since 2013.
Martin is co-creator and executive producer on the upcoming GoT prequel series House of the Dragon. He also is executive producing a number of other GoT prequel projects in the works at HBO and HBO Max as part of the growing franchise. They include 9 Voyages aka Sea Snake, Flea Bottom, 10,000 Ships and an adaptation of Martin’s Tales of Dunk & Egg novellas — all for HBO — as well as a possible GoT animated series, which is a possibility for HBO Max.
- 3/27/2021
- by Patrick Hipes and Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: MRC Film has tapped producer Elizabeth Cantillon to lead a new label within the division focused on romance movies.
Cantillon reports to MRC Film Co-Presidents Brye Adler and Jonathan Golfman. The yet-unnamed label focuses on the romance genre with a wide berth of stories that are inclusive and expansive, traditional and modern, original and literature based, and real-life stories catering to all audiences.
The new label operates under MRC Film with an independent development budget to shepherd projects at various stages of development and production. The division has complete distribution flexibility and the ability to work in collaboration with other producers.
“There’s a great opportunity to breathe new life into this genre and support these kinds of stories; and with Elizabeth’s infectious passion and enthusiasm, we could think of no better partner with whom to build this new label,” said Adler and Golfman.
“Every person has a...
Cantillon reports to MRC Film Co-Presidents Brye Adler and Jonathan Golfman. The yet-unnamed label focuses on the romance genre with a wide berth of stories that are inclusive and expansive, traditional and modern, original and literature based, and real-life stories catering to all audiences.
The new label operates under MRC Film with an independent development budget to shepherd projects at various stages of development and production. The division has complete distribution flexibility and the ability to work in collaboration with other producers.
“There’s a great opportunity to breathe new life into this genre and support these kinds of stories; and with Elizabeth’s infectious passion and enthusiasm, we could think of no better partner with whom to build this new label,” said Adler and Golfman.
“Every person has a...
- 3/26/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
If she wasn’t already, Mila Kunis is now the “Luckiest Girl Alive,” signing on to star in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel for Netflix.
Kunis stars as Ani FaNell in the upcoming film, based on Jessica Knoll’s 2015 New York Times best-selling thriller about a New York magazine editor whose “meticulously crafted life” is upended when a crime documentary forces her to relive the shocking truths of a devastating incident from her teenage years. The “Bad Moms,” “Black Swan” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” star will also produce the project under her Orchard Farm Productions banner.
The film is being shepherded by producers Bruna Papandrea and Jeanne Snow for Made Up Stories and Erik Feig and Lucy Kitada for Picturestart, the latter of which will oversee the production. Papandrea and Feig have been attached to produce “Luckiest Girl Alive” since they acquired the rights to Knoll’s then-unpublished...
Kunis stars as Ani FaNell in the upcoming film, based on Jessica Knoll’s 2015 New York Times best-selling thriller about a New York magazine editor whose “meticulously crafted life” is upended when a crime documentary forces her to relive the shocking truths of a devastating incident from her teenage years. The “Bad Moms,” “Black Swan” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” star will also produce the project under her Orchard Farm Productions banner.
The film is being shepherded by producers Bruna Papandrea and Jeanne Snow for Made Up Stories and Erik Feig and Lucy Kitada for Picturestart, the latter of which will oversee the production. Papandrea and Feig have been attached to produce “Luckiest Girl Alive” since they acquired the rights to Knoll’s then-unpublished...
- 2/22/2021
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Mila Kunis is set to star in Netflix’s film adaptation of “Luckiest Girl Alive,” which is based on author Jessica Knoll’s 2015 bestselling novel.
Mike Barker will direct the film, and Knoll herself is adapting the screenplay based on her book.
In “Luckiest Girl Alive,” Kunis will play Ani FaNelli, a sharp-tongued New Yorker who appears to have it all: a sought-after position at a glossy magazine, a killer wardrobe and a dream Nantucket wedding on the horizon. But when the director of a crime documentary invites her to tell her side of the shocking incident that took place when she was a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.
The book is told through Ani’s perspective and was heralded for its examination of the pressure faced by women to have it all and put on appearances,...
Mike Barker will direct the film, and Knoll herself is adapting the screenplay based on her book.
In “Luckiest Girl Alive,” Kunis will play Ani FaNelli, a sharp-tongued New Yorker who appears to have it all: a sought-after position at a glossy magazine, a killer wardrobe and a dream Nantucket wedding on the horizon. But when the director of a crime documentary invites her to tell her side of the shocking incident that took place when she was a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.
The book is told through Ani’s perspective and was heralded for its examination of the pressure faced by women to have it all and put on appearances,...
- 2/22/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Ellen Pompeo Producing Limited Series Based On Elin Hilderbrand’s ‘Paradise’ Trilogy In Works At ABC
ABC has put in development Winter In Paradise, a limited series based on the first book in Elin Hilderbrand’s bestelling Paradise trilogy, from husband-and-wife writing team André and Maria Jacquemetton (Mad Men), Ellen Pompeo and her Calamity Jane production company, Andrew Stearn Productions and ABC Signature, where Calamity Jane is based.
Written by the Jacquemettons, based on Elin Hilderbrand’s Paradise trilogy, the series tells the story of a husband’s secret life and a wife’s new beginning. Irene Steele shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to an extreme. But when her husband dies in a perplexing manner, Irene soon learns that her husband has been living a secret life with an entirely separate family on the distant Caribbean island of St. John. As Irene untangles a web of intrigue and deceit, and as she and her...
Written by the Jacquemettons, based on Elin Hilderbrand’s Paradise trilogy, the series tells the story of a husband’s secret life and a wife’s new beginning. Irene Steele shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to an extreme. But when her husband dies in a perplexing manner, Irene soon learns that her husband has been living a secret life with an entirely separate family on the distant Caribbean island of St. John. As Irene untangles a web of intrigue and deceit, and as she and her...
- 1/25/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva and Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
AMC Networks has acquired the rights to Anne Rice’s best-selling book series “The Vampire Chronicles” and “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches,” Variety has learned exclusively.
AMC now holds the comprehensive rights for the much sought-after intellectual property and will develop film and television projects for its own television networks and streaming services under the AMC Studios umbrella as well as external partner licensing. Anne Rice and her son Christopher Rice will serve as executive producers on all series and films developed under the deal.
Rolin Jones, who recently signed an overall development deal with AMC Studios, will be directly involved in developing projects based on the Rice catalog for television. The deal encompasses 18 titles between the two book series, which together have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. Among the books in the two series are “Interview with the Vampire,” “Queen of the Damned,” “The Vampire Lestat,” and “The Witching Hour.
AMC now holds the comprehensive rights for the much sought-after intellectual property and will develop film and television projects for its own television networks and streaming services under the AMC Studios umbrella as well as external partner licensing. Anne Rice and her son Christopher Rice will serve as executive producers on all series and films developed under the deal.
Rolin Jones, who recently signed an overall development deal with AMC Studios, will be directly involved in developing projects based on the Rice catalog for television. The deal encompasses 18 titles between the two book series, which together have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. Among the books in the two series are “Interview with the Vampire,” “Queen of the Damned,” “The Vampire Lestat,” and “The Witching Hour.
- 5/13/2020
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Indie feature studio Roadside Attractions, a Lionsgate sister company, is continuing its push into scripted television, acquiring Robert Dugoni’s bestelling and critically acclaimed spy thriller The Eighth Sister to develop as a series.
Set in present-day Us and Russia, The Eighth Sister, the first book in a planned series, follows Charles Jenkins, a long-retired African American CIA case-officer who is re-engaged by his former bureau chief to run a top-secret mission in current day Moscow, only to find himself running for his life and possibly betrayed by his own country.
Roadside Attractions’ head of television Jennifer Berman will executive produce the project, along with Roadside Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff. Dugoni will also serve as an executive producer on the series. The Eighth Sister was published in April by Thomas & Mercer.
“Robert Dugoni’s amazing book The Eighth Sister explores the real-world tensions and spy tradecraft of today...
Set in present-day Us and Russia, The Eighth Sister, the first book in a planned series, follows Charles Jenkins, a long-retired African American CIA case-officer who is re-engaged by his former bureau chief to run a top-secret mission in current day Moscow, only to find himself running for his life and possibly betrayed by his own country.
Roadside Attractions’ head of television Jennifer Berman will executive produce the project, along with Roadside Co-Presidents Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff. Dugoni will also serve as an executive producer on the series. The Eighth Sister was published in April by Thomas & Mercer.
“Robert Dugoni’s amazing book The Eighth Sister explores the real-world tensions and spy tradecraft of today...
- 12/3/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Fox has put in development The Perfect Couple, a one-hour mystery drama based on Elin Hilderbrand’s bestselling novel, from Fox Entertainment’s SideCar Content Accelerator. Search is underway for a writer to pen the adaptation.
Based on Hilderbrand’s book, The Perfect Couple centers around wedding season on Nantucket. The beautiful island is overrun with summer people – an annual source of aggravation for year-round residents. When one lavish wedding ends in disaster before it can even begin – with a body discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony – everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash digs into the bride, the groom, the groom’s famous mystery novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, the chief discovers that every wedding is a minefield – and no couple is perfect.
The Perfect Couple was published by Little, Brown & Company...
Based on Hilderbrand’s book, The Perfect Couple centers around wedding season on Nantucket. The beautiful island is overrun with summer people – an annual source of aggravation for year-round residents. When one lavish wedding ends in disaster before it can even begin – with a body discovered in Nantucket Harbor just hours before the ceremony – everyone in the wedding party is suddenly a suspect. As Chief of Police Ed Kapenash digs into the bride, the groom, the groom’s famous mystery novelist mother, and even a member of his own family, the chief discovers that every wedding is a minefield – and no couple is perfect.
The Perfect Couple was published by Little, Brown & Company...
- 9/3/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
George of the Jungle director Sam Weisman and writer Josh Shelov have boarded The Miracle of St. Anthony, a basketball movie being made by Walden Media.
Kerner Entertainment and Jordan Kerner are set to produce the film, an adaptation of sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski's 2005 book.
The book explores a year in the life of renowned Jersey City high school basketball coach Bob Hurley Sr., who has coached dozens of future college and NBA stars. It centers on a year when Hurley fought to keep his school, St. Anthony's, open while transforming a group of unprepared players into champions.
"It's impossible not to be affected by this story, whether you're a basketball fan or not," Weisman said. "Walden is the perfect home for telling this incredible story."
Walden vp development Evan Turner will oversee the project, which reunites Weisman and Kerner, who worked together on 1997's Jungle and 1994's D2: The Mighty Ducks.
Weisman is represented by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney Christine Cuddy. Kerner is repped by CAA.
Kerner Entertainment and Jordan Kerner are set to produce the film, an adaptation of sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski's 2005 book.
The book explores a year in the life of renowned Jersey City high school basketball coach Bob Hurley Sr., who has coached dozens of future college and NBA stars. It centers on a year when Hurley fought to keep his school, St. Anthony's, open while transforming a group of unprepared players into champions.
"It's impossible not to be affected by this story, whether you're a basketball fan or not," Weisman said. "Walden is the perfect home for telling this incredible story."
Walden vp development Evan Turner will oversee the project, which reunites Weisman and Kerner, who worked together on 1997's Jungle and 1994's D2: The Mighty Ducks.
Weisman is represented by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney Christine Cuddy. Kerner is repped by CAA.
- 9/27/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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