Book Lovers, a subversive romantic comedy and bestselling novel from Emily Henry, is getting the feature film treatment. Tango, Lia Buman‘s film and television development financier and producer, have acquired the adaptation rights, and have brought Sarah Hayward (Girls) on board to pen the script.
The novel follows a cutthroat literary agent named Nora who, convinced by her sister to spend an August holiday in North Carolina, keeps running into Charlie, a bookish, brooding editor from the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
But as they are thrown together again and again in a series of strange coincidences, what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
The book was published in 2022 and has since sold over one million copies in the U.S. Henry’s previous work People We Meet on Vacation is currently being adapted into a feature by Brett Haley, while her next title, Happy Place, is slated for publication in April.
Henry said in a statement:
“I’m ecstatic to be teaming up with Sarah and Tango to bring Book Lovers to life. My greatest hope for this project has always been to find a home for it among people who not only love, respect, and understand the romantic comedy genre, but also have that same love and respect for its audience. The film couldn’t have landed in better hands. It’s going to be something special.”
Tango are a hot production company after being behind Aftersun from breakout director Charlotte Wells. It was one of the most acclaimed films of 2022 and earned star Paul Mescal a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Their latest film, Randall Park‘s Shortcomings, was recently acquired by Sony Picture Classics out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Tango’s Buman added:
“Emily is a dominant force in the world of romantic comedy and we feel so lucky to bring to the screen a story that has already delighted so many on the page. The irreverent and whip smart writing delivers on classic romcom tropes while avoiding cliches, making it perfect for a cozy and refreshing adaptation.”
Book Lovers is just the latest bestselling book to be turned into a film. We’ve recently seen Michelle Zauner‘s acclaimed memoir Crying In H Mart, Colleen Hoover‘s It Ends With Us, and Michael Ende‘s fantasy novel Momo all begin their development towards a big screen adaptation.
#Peace.Love.BookLovers
