Rebecca Thomas just booked her next gig. The “Electrick Children” director is bringing Cheryl Della Pietra’s semi-autobiographical novel “Gonzo Girl” to the big screen, Deadline writes. Thomas will team up with Jessica Caldwell — who produced “Electrick Children” — to tell the story, which is based on Della Pietra’s wild and weird encounters with gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. “Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl’s” Olivia Cooke will star. In addition to directing the project, Thompson will pen the script.
According to the “Gonzo Girl’s” official logline, the book follows Alley Russo, “a recent college grad desperately trying to make it in the grueling world of New York publishing, but like so many who have come before her, she has no connections and has settled for an unpaid magazine internship while slinging drinks on Bleecker Street just to make ends meet. That’s when she hears the infamous Walker Reade is looking for an assistant…”
If that sounds fairly run-of-the-mill, keep reading: “After surviving an absurd three-day ‘trial period’ involving a .44 magnum, purple-pyramid acid, violent verbal outbursts, brushes with fame and the law, a bevy of peacocks, and a whole lot of cocaine, Alley is invited to stay at the compound where Reade works… As the job begins to take a toll on her psyche, Alley realizes she’s alone in the Colorado Rockies at the mercy of a drug-addicted literary icon who may never produce another novel — and her fate may already be sealed.”
Catch & Release Films will produce.
Thomas is set to direct the live-action “The Little Mermaid” starring Chloë Grace Moretz (“If I Stay,” “The Clouds of Sils Maria”) and “Looking for Alaska,” an adaptation of John Green’s novel. Additionally, Thomas will helm an episode of “Stranger Things’” second season. She previously directed shorts “Ivan Sings” and “Las Vegas, West,” and an episode of Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s “Sweet/Vicious.”
Caldwell has served as producer on many short films as well as features like Deb Shoval’s “AWOL,” “Happy Baby,” and “The Anomaly.”
Cooke’s credits include “Bates Motel,” “Thoroughbred,” and the upcoming “Ready Player One” directed by Steven Spielberg.
