Watching Books – August 2020

Hi guys, welcome to another month full of bookish adaptations news. I hope you enjoy all of the trailers and cast announcements and rights optioning we had this month. Without much ado, let’s dive into it.

• I’m very happy about this first news. Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries, The Perks of Being A Wallflower) will star in the adaptation of “Woman 99” by Greer Macallister and she will also be the producer. The book is an historical thriller that talks about a woman who has to free her sister from an infamous asylum. I can’t wait to see how this will turn out.

 

• Next news is about the new YA mystery “They Wish They Were Us” by Jessica Goodman. The book follows a murder set in an exclusive prep school on Long Island. The novel will be turned into a TV show and Annabelle Attanasio (Mickey and The Bear) will be the screenwriter, director and producer. We already know that Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, Everything Sucks!) will star in the TV Show, and it is her own company, Fifty-Fifty films, that’s going to produce it.

• We came to know that the second season of “A Discovery of Witches”, based on the novels by Deborah Harkness will air in January of 2021 and we can’t be more thrilled about it.

  

  A Discovery of Witches Teresa Palmer Credit: Sky One

   

• We have the first stills from the new adaptation of the classic “Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maurier. This new adaptation will star Lily James (Cinderella, Baby Driver) and Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name, The Social Network). These pictures seem pretty amazing and I can’t wait to see how this one turned out.

Rebecca: (L to R) Armie Hammer as Maxim de Winter, Lily James as Mrs. de Winter. Cr. KERRY BROWN/NETFLIX

 

• Speaking about Armie Hammer, he will also star in the movie based on the book “Death on The Nile” by Agatha Christie, and we also have a trailer for this one. The first glimpse of it seems amazing and so does the cast: we have Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Emma Mackey (Sex Education) and Kenneth Branagh (I don’t have to say what Kenneth Branagh did right? I can’t actually choose something, he did it all).

 

• One of the most exciting news of this month, in my opinion, is that Guillermo del Toro will adapt its own version of the very famous book “Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi. The movie will be a Netflix production, and it will have the most amazing voice cast. Voice, because the movie will be an animated musical. The film will involve Cate Blanchette, Tilda Swinton, Finn Wolfhard, Ewan McGregor and many more.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by John Salangsang/BFA/REX/Shutterstock (9960120ab) Guillermo Del Toro LACMA: Art and Film Gala presented by Gucci, Los Angeles, USA – 03 Nov 2018

 

• From Kacen Callender’s Instagram we came to know that “Felix Ever After”, of which they are the author, will become a TV Show thanks to Amazon and will have the same producers as Mozart In The Jungle. If you didn’t know this novel was our book of the month for August for our book club. You can check out the review, playlist and fancast up here on the blog.
• Another exciting news is that Paul Mescal, the breakout star of “Normal People” will star in the adaptation of the novel “The Lost Daughter” by Elena Ferrante. We still don’t know which character he will play, but the movie has a starstruck cast, featuring Dakota Johnson (A Bigger Splash, Suspiria) and Olivia Colman (The Favourite). My Italian pride is swelling thinking about Paul Mescal playing a role in this movie.

 

• Caitriona Balfe, more notorious for playing the main character in Outlander, has acquired the rights to adapt Sarah Crossan’s book “Here Is the Beehive”. She will be the producer and also the star of the movie or show, we still don’t know.
  

  

• Last News for this month is that CBS dropped the first teaser trailer for the awaited adaptation of the Stephen King’s novel “The Stand”. The miniseries is set to be released on December the 17^th of this year.

  We have come to an end, thank you so much for reading. Which adaptation are you most awaiting? Which is your favourite news of this month? Let me know and I’ll see you next month,