Rainbow Rowell's best-selling novel "Eleanor & Park" is a breath of fresh air for young adult fans who are growing tired of dystopia, so it's big news that DreamWorks has picked up the film rights to adapt the book for a 2015 release.
"Eleanor & Park" is one of those cool YA novels that treats its readers like the intelligent humans they are -- naturally, it's kicked up some controversy because of its realistic portrayal of how much it can suck to be a teen. However, the whole world will soon know the bittersweetness of Eleanor and Park's budding relationship, from '80s mix tapes to heartbreak.
Holly Bario, DreamWorks president of production, also has loads of awesome things to say about the project, which gives us the feeling "Eleanor & Park" will do its source material justice. She told Entertainment Weekly, "Every girl who has read it says, 'That was me in high school, or that was me in 7th grade.'... It reminded all of us of our own sort of awkwardness, or family dysfunction."
In even better news, Rowell herself will be writing the script, which is sure to be a challenge given how Eleanor and Park switch off narrating chapters. "There are all sorts of groovy stylistic things you could do with voice over, or words on the screen, but we want something that's real Rainbow," Bario said. The real Rainbow is currently writing a book, but once that's done, the project will get started. There's currently no director or actors attached, which means it's time for our favorite thing, dream-casting a movie! But we have to agree...
And YES, it does seem like poor planning now, not to have written A SINGLE character who could be played by Benedict Cumberbatch. #regrets
- Rainbow Rowell (@rainbowrowell) April 2, 2014
[via EW]