Two of the women behind HBO’s award-winning adaptation of Gillan Flynn’s “Sharp Objects” are teaming up on another project based on a novel. Marti Noxon and Jessica Rhoades, both EPs on the Southern Gothic Amy Adams-starrer, have optioned the film and TV rights to Abdi Nazemian’s YA title “Like a Love Story.” The pair are developing the book into a feature film, with both serving as producers. Deadline confirmed the news.
Set in 1989 New York City, “Like a Love Story” follows three teens. “There’s Reza, an Iranian boy who has just moved to the city with his mother to live with his stepfather and stepbrother. He’s terrified that someone will guess the truth he can barely acknowledge about himself. Reza knows he’s gay, but all he knows of gay life are the media’s images of men dying of AIDS,” the source summarizes. “There’s Judy, an aspiring fashion designer who worships her uncle Stephen, a gay man with AIDS who devotes his time to activism as a member of ACT UP. Judy has never imagined finding romance… until she falls for Reza, and they start dating. And then there’s Art, Judy’s best friend and their school’s only out and proud teen. As Reza and Art grow closer, Reza struggles to find a way out of his deception that won’t break Judy’s heart — and destroy the most meaningful friendship he’s ever known.”
“Abdi Nazemian has written a sweet, funny, and compelling novel with characters that jump off the page. It’s a wonderful romance that’s also a call to activism, which is no small feat. We’re thrilled to work with the extraordinary Abdi and help bring this captivating story to the screen,” said Noxon and Rhoades.
“Sharp Objects” received three Golden Globe nominations including TV Limited Series, Best Actress Limited Series (Amy Adams), and Supporting Actress Limited Series (Patricia Clarkson). Clarkson won her category. Noxon, whose other credits include “Dietland,” “Mad Men,” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” created the series. She made her feature directorial debut with 2017 eating disorder drama “To the Bone,” inspired by her own experiences.
“There’s so many theories about why we like to watch … stories about women being complex and making mistakes and, I can only say what the answer is for me, which is that there’s a real catharsis in seeing women be the people with agency in their stories, women who are committed to the full range of emotions,” Noxon has said. “I keep joking that the hashtag headline of 2018 should just be ‘#WomenAreHumanBeings.’ [Laughs.] We have all the same feelings as any other human being. We can be completely shitty — just like a man. And we don’t necessarily have to have a really sympathetic backstory.”
“The Affair” and “Cold Case Files” are among Rhoades’ previous credits. She’s an EP on Amazon’s “Utopia,” an upcoming thriller created by Flynn.
