Lionsgate has acquired movie rights to the upcoming novel “Luckiest Girl Alive” and set the feature adaptation with Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea producing through their Pacific Standard company.
Jessica Knoll’s debut novel, to be published by Simon and Schuster on May 12, follows a 28-year-old New Yorker who appears to have a perfect life until a dark trauma from her past resurfaces. Simon and Schuster’s Sarah Knight, who acquired and edited “Luckiest Girl Alive,” also acquired Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” and edited her bestseller “Dark Places” while at Random House.
No actress has been attached yet to “Luckiest Girl Alive.” Witherspoon and Papandrea were producers on “Gone Girl,” “Wild” and the upcoming action-comedy “Hot Pursuit,” which stars Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara.
“‘Luckiest Girl Alive’ is the kind of book that grabs you and doesn’t let go,” Witherspoon said. “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.”
Jeyun Choi Munford and Nirokhi Raychaudhuri will oversee the project for Lionsgate. The deal was negotiated by CAA on behalf of Knoll, the novel and the producers.
