With a career spent in documentaries (2009’s The September Issue) as well as television (episodes of ABC’s hit Nashville), R.J. Cutler is ready to make the jump to narrative features. Variety reports that he is closing a deal to direct If I Stay for Summit Entertainment. Based on the 2009 Gayle Forman novel of the same name, If I Stay tells the story of Mia, who disconnects from her body after her family is involved in a car crash. With her body in a coma, Mia looks back on her life and everything that has mattered to her, from her love of classical music to her boyfriend Adam. Chloe Moretz is signed on to play Mia, but other casting news is unavailable at this time.
If I Stay sounds like par for the course from Summit, who continue to attack the young adult market following the success of The Twilight Saga franchise. Unlike that franchise, however, the source material for If I Stay is well-reviewed and considered to be a moving piece of work. On that alone this movie intrigues me and having read the synopsis of the book it does have a ton of potential. Cutler is no stranger to the dramatic, so hopefully he is a good fit for the material.
Have you read If I Stay? Do you think Summit will do the source material justice, or will they try to focus too much on the relationship between Mia and Adam?