In a bit of a bidding war, New Line Cinema has won the rights to adapt Marina Gessner‘s YA novel The Distance From Me To You for HBO Max.
Sabrina Carpenter is attached to star and executive produce, with Tiffany Paulsen writing the script. The rights were reportedly sold for six figures.
In the novel, two teens running from very different lives meet and fall in love on the Appalachian Trail. But what begins as a coming-of-age story of first love soon turns into a wilderness thriller when they find themselves dangerously lost and fighting for survival.
Paulsen previously wrote Nancy Drew, Disney Channel’s Adventures In Babysitting, and the Netflix film Holidate.
She recently collaborated with Netflix again, selling the streamer an original pitch she’ll write and direct with Kristen Chenoweth starring, and she’s currently writing About Fate which has Emma Roberts attached to star.
Carpenter is an actress and singer who’s released four albums and also appeared in films such as The Hate U Give, Tall Girl, and The Short History Of The Long Road.
She recently launched her production label, At Last Productions, and the first project in development is Alice, a musical reimagining of Alice In Wonderland that Carpenter will star in for Netflix.
It was just a couple of months ago that HBO Max put Field Notes On Love in development, a film adaptation of Jennifer E. Smith‘s 2019 YA romance novel. So obviously expanding their content to reach a younger demographic is a conscious point of emphasis right now. They also set a family-friendly Garbage Pail Kids animated show a few weeks ago.
#Peace.Love.TheDistanceFromMeToYou
