‘Bates Motel’ Star Olivia Cooke in Talks for Lead in ‘Me & Earl & the Dying Girl’ (Exclusive)

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon will direct the Indian Paintbrush movie, which Jesse Andrews adapted from his own novel

“Bates Motel” actress Olivia Cooke is in talks to star in the Indian Paintbrush movie “Me & Earl & the Dying Girl,” an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap.

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (“The Town That Dreaded Sundown”) will direct, while Dan Fogelman (“Imagine”) will produce. Jesse Andrews adapted his own debut novel, and the screenplay was voted to the Top 10 of the 2012 Black List.

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A coming-of-age tale in the vein of classic John Hughes movies, “Me & Earl” follows a quirky high school student in Pittsburgh who is forced by his mother to befriend a sick girl he once knew when they attended Hebrew school together. Well-liked by every clique in school without actually belonging to any of them, the young man’s commitment to the new friendship changes his life.

While her deal has not closed, Cooke is negotiating to accept an offer to play the female lead, who battles leukemia in the novel.

A representative for Indian Paintbrush told TheWrap that no actors have been cast yet, as the company is still searching for the movie’s male star, who will obviously need to have chemistry with his leading lady.

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The 20 year-old actress has been in high demand among genre producers of late, as she has Focus’ “The Signal” and Lionsgate’s “The Quiet Ones” on the horizon, as well as Universal’s “Ouija.”

While “Me & Earl” will represent an entirely different acting challenge than that trio of films, Cooke has experience playing illness on screen, as her “Bates Motel” character Emma Decody suffers from cystic fibrosis.

Cooke is represented by the Gersh Agency, Luber Roklin Entertainment and UK-based Shepherd Management.

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