Shailene Woodley is attached to star in the film “Adrift,” Variety reports.
Based on a true story, the site describes the project as “Gravity” on the high seas: “When Tami Oldham and her fiancé, Richard Sharp, set sail from Tahiti under brilliant blue skies, their future together looked just as bright. Young and in love, both expert sailors who planned to sail the world together. But in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 1,500 miles from the nearest land, they sailed directly into a monumental hurricane. Strapped in the cabin, Tami was knocked unconscious. When she awoke, she found the boat in ruins, the masts missing and the engine, navigational instruments, and radio broken. And both the life raft, and her fiancé, gone. With a major head wound, little food or water, and a broken boat, Tami found a way to survive an impossible 41-day journey, navigating herself 1,500 miles to safety on the Hawaiian shores.”
“Everest” director Baltasar Kormakur may direct, Deadline writes, and Aaron and Jordan Kandell penned the spec script. Deadline predicts a bidding war between studios.
Woodley is next set to star in HBO’s limited series “Big Little Lies,” which premieres on February 19. Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel of the same name, the darkly comedic murder mystery centers on three mothers (Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Woodley) of kindergartners in the same class who become embroiled in a homicide investigation in their affluent beachside community, exploring with humor and compassion issues of infidelity, divorce, domestic violence, and school bullying.
There’s still no final word on Woodley’s starring franchise, the “Divergent” series. Back in the summer, it was announced that the franchise, which is based on Veronica Roth’s novels, will see its fourth and final film, “Ascendant,” appear on television as a TV movie, with hopes of a spinoff series.
But Woodley has been adamant that she didn’t sign on for a TV movie. “I said that I didn’t sign up for a TV show,” Woodley said on the Today Show. “They haven’t finalized any decisions, so it’s actually a moot point to talk about it now out of respect to Lionsgate and to everyone involved,” she said. “I’m not exactly sure where they stand, so we’re kind of all in a limbo waiting game.”
It’s a shame that a female-led franchise may not end successfully. As we’ve written before, four movies does not mean three movies and one on TV. And the shifting of cast members in the final film could do even more damage to the franchise. Imagine if “Mockingjay Part 2” ended up on television and didn’t star Jennifer Lawrence. Hopefully, this decision won’t negatively impact female-driven action films, franchises, or book adaptations.
