Toni Collette is poised to make her directorial debut with an adaptation of Lily King‘s book, Writers & Lovers. Collette will also serve as co-writer of the script alongside Nick Payne (The Crown), while she will also produce the film under her Vocab Films banner. Topic Studios is backing the project.
Writers & Lovers follows Casey Peabody, an aspiring writer in the 1990s thrown into chaos by her mother’s death. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables rents a tiny room at the side of a garage, working on the novel she’s been writing for years.
When she falls for two very different men at the same time, her world fractures even more. Casey’s fight to fulfill her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink. The book was released last year to critical acclaim.
Collette said in an official statement:
“I have been wanting to direct for quite some time but have been a bit busy with my day job. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be bringing Lily King‘s beautiful, funny, moving novel to life. It’s an empowering story that speaks to me as a woman and an artist. It’s ultimately about coming to know and believe in oneself. This is not always an easy feat, but the most important journey any person can take”.
Collette has been on a pretty impressive roll over the last few years. She gave a towering performance in Hereditary, before giving great supporting performances in Knives Out and I’m Thinking Of Ending Things. She was also nominated for an Emmy for her lead role in the Netflix limited series, Unbelievable.
Considering Collette’s talent and her current knack for picking good projects, combined with the fact that Writers & Lovers is an acclaimed book, fans should be excited for this project. Production is expected to begin later this year.
Collette will be looking to continue her impressive run of form with the other projects she has in development, which include starring alongside Anna Kendrick in the Netflix sci-fi movie Stowaway, and joining a stacked cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Bradley Cooper, and Rooney Mara in Guillermo Del Toro‘s Nightmare Alley.
#Peace.Love.Writers&Lovers
