Fans who have been anticipating the adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” are one step closer to getting their wish. Lesley Headland (“Bachelorette,” “Sleeping With Other People”) will direct the adaptation for Netflix, TheWrap confirmed.
The book and film tells the story of Evelyn Hugo, a fading Hollywood star, who reveals to a young journalist the secrets and scandals of Hollywood, as well as her life with her seven husbands. “Little Fires Everywhere” screenwriter Liz Tigelaar will write the adaptation.
Liza Chasin for 3Dot Productions and Brad Mendelsohn for Circle of Confusion will produce, with Jenkins Reid and Margaret Chernin acting as executive producers.
The book was initially planned as a series for Freeform before Netflix secured the rights for a film adaptation.
The book has been a hot property since its publication in 2017. It’s already spent over 120 weeks in a row on the New York Times bestseller list. Demand for a feature has been even higher, with many fans hoping actress Jessica Chastain will take on the role of Evelyn Hugo. The fervor for Chastain in the role has become so intense that Chastain politely declined a request to sign copies of the book.
“I’ve been asked multiple times by fans to sign books that I’m not attached to contractually,” she tweeted in response to video of her refusal to sign the book back in April. “Because it feels wrong, and like I’m taking credit for someone else’s work, I’ll say I can’t sign because I’m not doing it. That doesn’t mean I’ve read a bad script.”
Taylor Jenkins Reid has become an instantly adaptable author in recent years. Amazon Prime Video released a TV adaptation of Jenkins Reid’s “Daisy Jones and the Six” earlier this year, while a filmed version of “One True Loves” debuted in theaters back in April. Tigelaar is also attached to executive produce an adaptation of Reid’s “Malibu Rising” for Hulu and the rights to her most recent novel, “Carrie Soto Is Back” were won by Picturestart for adaptation.
