Variety reports that Olivia Wilde is set to make her directorial debut with Booksmart and she’s enlisted the help of two bright up-and-comers to star in it. Beanie Feldstein (Lady Bird) and Kaitlyn Dever (Last Man Standing) have been cast as the two leads in Wilde’s film at Annapurna Pictures. Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, and Megan Ellison will produce for Annapurna, while Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, and Adam McKay are producing for Gloria Sanchez, the female-focused production banner wing of Gary Sanchez Productions.
The outlet provided a description of the film:
“[It] follows Dever and Feldstein’s characters, who, on the eve of their high school graduation, two academic superstars and best friends suddenly realize that they should have worked less and played more. Determined never to fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.”
Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins penned the original script with initial revisions executed by Susanna Fogel and current revisions by Katie Silberman. The young stars took to their respective Twitter accounts to express their excitement with the project with Feldstein declaring she is “SO EXCITED” and Dever echoing her sentiments.
Wilde also celebrated the hashtag Female Filmmaker Friday by posting an image on Instagram of her directing chair on set of the project (see below)
Booksmart has no release date as of yet.
