Reese Witherspoon Partnering with Lionsgate to Produce Film Adaptation Of "Luckiest Girl Alive" Book
Lionsgate has acquired the film rights to Jessica Knoll's first novel, "Luckiest Girl Alive," which Reese Witherspoon will produce with her Pacific Standard partner Bruna Papandrea according to The Wrap.
Written by Cosmopolitan senior editor Jessica Knoll, "Luckiest Girl Alive" follows the story of 28-year-old New Yorker Ani FaNelli who seems to have it all. As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, she endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she's this close to living the perfect life she's worked so hard to achieve. But Ani has a secret. There's something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.
Witherspoon, who also produced and starred in the Oscar nominated film adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's memoir "Wild," in her statement about her upcoming project told reporters: "'Luckiest Girl Alive' is the kind of book that grabs you and doesn't let go. The hero of the book is a wily, intelligent, complex narrator. This character and the thrilling narrative that she drives are exactly the kind of story our company, Pacific Standard Films, wants to produce. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Jessica and Lionsgate to bring her debut novel to the screen."
Eric Feige, co-president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in his statement added: "This is one of those rare books that come along every so often that you simply cannot put down. We are thrilled to be working with Reese and Bruna on this project."
Knoll's debut book is set to hit the shelves beginning May 12.
Witherspoon will be seen next on the big screen as uptight and slightly inept police officer Cooper who tries to protect Sofia Vergara's Daniella, the sexy and outgoing widow of a drug boss, as they race through Texas, pursued by crooked cops and murderous gunmen, in Warner Bros' buddy-comedy movie, Hot Pursuit, which hits theaters on May 8.