Amy Adams will star in Ron Howard‘s adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy at Netflix, per Variety. Vanessa Taylor, The Shape Of Water screenwriter, has penned the adaptation, while Howard, Brian Grazer, and Karen Lunder will produce for Imagine Entertainment.
Based on J.D. Vance‘s bestselling memoir, the film is a “modern exploration of the American dream” and follows three generations of an Appalachian family. The story is told from the perspective of its youngest member, a Yale student forced to return to his hometown.
The film has been in development since 2017, when Imagine acquired the rights. Netflix won a heated bidding war in January to finance the project at around $45 million, and as the streaming giant aims for more critical acclaim and awards wins, these are the kinds of projects they are targeting.
Getting Adams to star is a huge coup. One of the great contemporary actors, she has always chosen good projects and should arguably have multiple Oscar wins by now. She had a busy 2018, starring in the HBO limited series Sharp Objects, before following that up with an Oscar-nominated performance as Lynne Cheney in Vice.
Teaming her with a experienced filmmaker in Howard is the kind of can’t-fail project Netflix has been looking for. Adams will next be seen in The Woman In The Window alongside Julianne Moore.
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