After scribing adaptations of Legally Blonde, 10 Thing I Hate About You and She’s the Man, screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith are joining forces once again for their latest project. According to Deadline, 20th Century Fox has hired the duo to adapt Adena Halpern‘s novel 29 for producer John Davis (Mr. Popper’s Penguins).
The novel follows Ellie Jerome, a 75-year-old woman who feels like she has more in common with her 29-year old-granddaughter, Lucy, rather than her daughter, Barbara. After inevitably receiving a cake on her birthday, Ellie wishes she were 29 once again — and, guess what, she wakes up in the body of her 29-year old self and feels like she “finally has the chance to do things right.”
I know what we’re all thinking: This story has been hundreds of times over, most recently with 2009’s unfortunate 17 Again. But, alas, Hollywood is banking on another Freaky Friday scenario with Halpern‘s novel being the launch point. The duo recently collaborated on The Ugly Truth, which doesn’t say much about their writing talents — other than that they somehow find work — but source material might ground them as scribes.
Is this concept too tired? Are you a fan of Lutz and Smith’s work?