It seems Richard Linklater is spending no time resting on his laurels following the Oscar nomination for acclaimed family drama Boyhood, after it was announced that the filmmaker has entered early talks to helm the big-screen adaptation of Maria Semple’s novel Where’d You Go, Bernadette.
News comes by way of The Hollywood Reporter, who state that the project is being overseen by Annapurna Pictures — indie studio behind such titles as Her, American Hustle and The Master — which, should Linklater sign along the dotted line, would mark a reunion between the two parties given that the director worked under Annapurna for 1980s basketball drama, That’s What I’m Talking About, which wrapped production late last year.
Sticking with the family drama, Linklater’s next potential project will orbit around the titular persona, charting her successful life through the eyes of her 15-year-old daughter Bee Branch. What makes the story so intriguing, however, is the fact that her mother is missing. And so, in piecing together her fragmented existence, the narrative unfolds with Bee experiencing her mother’s triumphs and downfalls through instant messages, letters, doctor’s reports, a TED talk and much more. This connection then spurs our narrator on a journey to Antarctica in a bid to find the wayward Bernadette.
At this early stage, there’s no word on casting for either of the key roles. However, we understand that Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber — the creative minds that helped bring The Fault in Our Stars to the silver screen — have produced a script for Annapurna, while Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and the company’s own Megan Ellison are producing.
We’ll keep you up-to-date with all the developments pertaining to Linklater’s latest outing as we learn more, but for now, give us your thoughts on Where’d You Go, Bernadette below.
