After making waves at Sundance last year with his drama Smashed, director James Ponsoldt is enjoying his new found fame. He’s back at the festival this year with The Spectacular Now and this week he has chosen his next project, the YA novel Pure.
The director will write and direct the adaptation of Julianna Baggott’s novel of the same name which takes place after a “devestating nuclear disaster, where the world has split into two: the “pures,” who survived untouched inside The Dome, and the “wretches” who were fused to whatever object they were touching at the moment of detonation. Partridge, a pure, and Pressia, a wretch with a doll’s head instead of a hand, are drawn together as the former searches for his mother’s killer. ”
And the fun doesn’t stop there. The second book in the series, titled Fuse, will hit stores next month, with a third novel already in the works. Of course, all three novels will eventually be made into films (granted Pure does well) but so far, Ponsoldt has only signed on for one entry. If it does well though, you can bet that Fox 2000 will be at his door for the sequel.
It won’t be all smooth sailing though, now with Twilight out of the picture, a number of YA franchises are on the way, all hoping to re-capture the magic of Stephenie Meyer’s beloved series. We have Divergent, Mortal Instruments, Beautiful Creatures etc. The playing field for these types of films is getting crowded and the marketplace won’t be able to support more than one or two at most.
Will Ponsoldt be able to make a splash with Pure? Only time will tell. Having not read the novel, I can’t comment too much on it but the plot summary sounds interesting and Ponsoldt seems like a proven talent. So all things considered, I’m definitely rooting for this one.
Have you read Pure? Are you looking forward to seeing it in theatres? Let us know in the comments below.
