Megan Ellison and Nina Jacobson have teamed to produce an adaptation of “Where’d You Go Bernadette,” Maria Semple’s best selling novel about the disappearance of a reclusive Los Angeles architect.
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who wrote “(500) Days of Summer,” will adapt it for the screen. The novel uses letters, emails, texts and other written documents to chronicle how the lost architect’s husband and daughter search for her.
“It is so rare to find a book that is as original as it is moving and whose storytelling is as innovative as its characters are rich.,” Jacobson (right) said in a statement. “I'm very grateful to be collaborating with Megan Ellison to bring Maria's extraordinary book to the screen. We are off to a great start with Neustadter and Weber, whose voices and creative agility make them a perfect match for Bernadette.”
The pairing of Jacobson’s Color Force and Ellison’s Annapurna unites one of Hollywood’s most experienced female executives with a prominent newcomer.
Jacobson, the former head of Disney, runs Color Force Productions and is producing “The Hunger Games” franchise. Ellison, the daughter of Oracle CEO, has used her financial heft and passion for film to back some of Hollywood’s most respected directors, such as Paul Thomas Anderson (“The Master”) and Kathryn Bigelow (“Zero Dark Thirty”).
“I can't think of two more impressive women than Nina Jacobson and Megan Ellison,” Semple said in a statement. “I'm bouncy with excitement that they and the whole Color Force and Annapurna teams will be ushering Bernadette onto the big screen.”
Ellison and Jacobson will produce with Brad Simpson of Color Force. Semple will executive produce with Color Force’s Bryan Unkeless and Annapurna’s Ted Schipper.
