A new take on Snow White is on the way from Bruna Papandrea and Lynette Howell Taylor. Endeavor Content has acquired the rights to “Poisoned,” Jennifer Donnelly’s new YA fantasy novel, and tapped Papandrea and Taylor to produce a feature film adaptation. A press release announced the news.
Published by Scholastic Press earlier this week, “Poisoned” is described as “an empowering reimagining” of the Snow White fairytale. “Aided by seven mysterious strangers, Sophie’s journey of survival in the forest while facing a terrifying enemy will forever change the perceptions of strength, power, and the real meaning of ‘happily ever after,'” the book’s synopsis teases.
This isn’t the first time Donnelly has collaborated with Papandrea, Taylor, and Endeavor Content. Endeavor previously snagged the film rights to Donnelly’s Cinderella retelling “Stepsister.” Papandrea and Taylor are producing that project as well, and “The Spanish Princess” creator Emma Frost wrote the script. “Conversations are now being held with world-class filmmakers for the project,” per the source.
With these Donnelly adaptations, Papandrea, Taylor, and Endeavor are aiming to create “a revisionist fairy-tale universe,” and planning to develop more films and TV extensions.
“I am beyond thrilled to be partnering once again with Lynette Howell Taylor and Bruna Papandrea – two extraordinary women with an immense passion for telling stories that challenge us, inspire us, and forever change us,” Donnelly said. “‘Poisoned’s’ fierce, formidable, feminist characters are in incredibly talented hands, and I’m so excited to follow them on their journey from the page to the screen.”
Anne Fontaine’s modern retelling of Snow White, “Pure as Snow,” screened at Tribeca last year. Isabelle Huppert and Lou de Laâge star.
“Big Little Lies,” “The Nightingale,” and “Lucy in the Sky” are among Papandrea’s producing credits. She is an executive producer on “The Undoing,” an HBO drama starring her “BLL” colleague Nicole Kidman that premieres this Sunday, October 25. Papandrea is also developing adaptations of a number of other women-penned novels, including Christina Baker Kline’s “The Exiles,” Holly Ringland’s “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart,” and Signe Pike’s “The Lost Queen.”
Taylor scored a Best Picture Oscar nomination for producing “A Star Is Born.” Her other credits include “I Know This Much Is True,” “Blue Valentine,” “Half Nelson,” and the 2020 Oscars.
Donnelly’s works include middle-grade, YA, and adult novels. “A Northern Light” and the “Tea Rose” trilogy are among her best-known titles.
