Another compulsively readable “Gone Girl”-esque book is getting the big screen treatment. Deadline reports that Janelle Brown’s bestseller “Watch Me Disappear” — which has drawn comparisons to Gillian Flynn’s literary and cinematic hit “Gone Girl” — has been optioned by The Gotham Group. Gotham Group founder and CEO Ellen Goldsmith-Vein (“Camp X-Ray”) will be producing the film adaptation of “Watch Me” alongside frequent collaborator Lindsay Williams.
No word on who will pen the script or direct yet.
The death of “beautiful, charismatic, outdoorsy California mom” Billie sets off the action of “Watch Me Disappear,” Deadline details. “She and her husband Jonathan seemingly have an enviable life with their daughter, Olive. But one day on a solo hike, Billie vanishes from the trail. The only thing found is a hiking boot. She is presumed dead, but then a year after her mom’s disappearance, Olive starts having ‘waking dreams’ but isn’t sure if they are hallucinations. She believes her mother is still alive as her father worries about his daughter’s mental health. However, once he unearths a secret, he begins his own quest for the truth.”
“I’m thrilled to be working with Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and her team, whose intuitive understanding of my characters and their journey mean that the film adaptation of ‘Watch Me Disappear’ will be something truly special,” Brown commented.
Brown has previously written two other novels: “This Is Where We Live,” an exploration of how economics and home ownership threaten a young marriage, and “All We Ever Wanted Was Everything,” about the women of the Miller family, who deal with divorce, bankruptcy, and slut-shaming.
“Watch Me Disappear” was published in July by Spiegel & Grau.
Adaptations of Ruth Ware’s mystery thriller “The Woman in Cabin 10” and Air Force Major Mary Jennings Hegar’s memoir “Shoot Like a Girl” are among Goldsmith-Vein and Gotham Group’s other slated projects. Angelina Jolie is reportedly attached to star in the latter.
