Lionsgate has acquired the rights to Jessica Knoll’s first novel, “Luckiest Girl Alive,” which Reese Witherspoon will produce with her Pacific Standard partner Bruna Papandrea.
The Simon & Schuster novel that hits shelves (and Kindles, of course) on May 12 follows a wealthy 28-year-old New Yorker who appears to have it all, but her meticulously crafted life starts to unravel when a dark trauma and shocking secret from her past resurfaces.
Jeyun Choi Munford, VP of production, and creative executive Nirokhi Raychaudhuri will oversee the project on behalf of the studio.
The deal was negotiated by CAA on behalf of Knoll — a senior editor at Cosmopolitan — Simon & Schuster and the producers.
“’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,” Witherspoon, who produced Oscar nominee “Wild,” said in a statement. “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.”
“This is one of those rare books that come along every so often that you simply cannot put down,” Erik Feig, co-president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be working with Reese and Bruna on this project.”