In an interesting move, DreamWorks has picked up the film rights to The Good Luck of Right Now, the next novel from Silver Linings Playbook author Matthew Quick. The book hasn’t even been published yet — Harper-Collins picked up the US-Canada publishing rights, and is eyeing a release sometime during spring 2014 — but DreamWorks nevertheless caught a window and found it to be worth pouncing on. [THR]
Considering the multi-dimensional success the Silver Linings adaptation has enjoyed — it hasn’t been an overwhelming commercial hit just yet, but the Oscar-race attention is bound to build its profile — it’s easy to understand why DreamWorks has banked on the project so early. But it’s still a slightly peculiar move, if only because Silver Linings, by conventional standards, isn’t much of a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
It’s certainly a bit lighter than David O. Russell‘s previous (and better) film, The Fighter, but it tackles issues (mental illness) and characters (a hyperactive, bipolar loose-cannon) that don’t seem like immediate connectors with the mainstream. It’s only really when you add the benefit of the beloved cast (Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, etc.), the aggressive backing of Harvey Weinstein, and the deft touch of Russell that the project starts to look like a viable hit.
That said, it’s not as if The Good Luck of Right Now is something that’s going to require a hefty price-tag. The novel is said to “[follow] the intertwined lives of four people, who are all outsiders in their own right. However, in the wake of grieving over pain and loss in their lives, they come together to form the most unlikely family.” Like Silver Linings, this isn’t a synopsis that sounds costly. It’s in the potential cast and crew where the most money is likely going to be required, and you can pretty much count on DreamWorks pushing hard to get the right names on board here. I’m also curious to find out if they end up changing the title: The Good Luck of Right Now, to me, sounds about as vague and uninteresting as Playing for Keeps. For those who haven’t seen O. Russell’s latest yet, check out a 12-minute featurette below for the film expanding in full wide release date.
What do you think of this move by DreamWorks? Have you read any of Quick’s other novels?