Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: After seeing so many of his novels turned into films, Nick Hornby is taking on the work of a peer. He has signed to write the script for Wild, the bestselling Cheryl Strayed memoir that Pacific Standard’s Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea have set up with River Road Entertainment’s Bill Pohlad. Witherspoon and Papandrea will produce with Pohlad, who’ll finance development.

In Wild, Strayed tells the inspiring story of a woman who tries to rebuild her shattered life by taking on a mission not seen in film since Forrest Gump ran across the country. Traumatized by the death of her mother and then the breakup of her marriage, Strayed made the impulsive decision to try regaining her mojo by taking on an 1100-mile solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State. Despite no experience in long-distance hiking, she succeeded and in the process pulled herself back together. Wild is among several female-driven projects that Witherspoon and Papandrea have put in development since they formed Pacific Standard last March; others include the Gillian Flynn novel Gone Girl, Mitch Larson’s Pennyroyal’s Boot Camp, and Pharm Girl. Just as important, Wild creates an opportunity for Witherspoon to play a strong heroine, the role she shines in most brightly.

Witherspoon herself drafted Hornby after being a longtime fan of his writing. “Nick’s innate blend of humanity and humor are a perfect match for Cheryl’s raw emotional memoir,” Witherspoon said. “I look forward to collaborating with both of these talented writers to create a film full of honesty, adventure and self discovery.”

Said Hornby: “I loved Cheryl Strayed’s memoir. It’s moving, funny, painful and brave, and the moment I’d finished it I wanted someone to let me have a go at adapting it, because it was clear to me that it could make a wonderful movie. I’m thrilled to be given the chance; the fact that this chance was given to me by Reese Witherspoon, a great actress who feels exactly the same way about the book as I do, makes this project all the more exciting.”

It’s not the first time Hornby has scripted based on another author’s work. Hornby recently turned in an adaptation of the Colm Toibin novel Brooklyn, with Rooney Mara set to star. Hornby is repped by Casarotto Ramsay, Pacific Standard by CAA and Management 360, and Strayed by The Smiley Group and Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency.