Sarah Polley to adapt Zoe Whittall's The Best Kind of People
Sarah Polley has optioned the film rights to Zoe Whittall's novel The Best Kind of People and will write and direct the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Whittall's novel was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and a national bestseller in Canada. The Best Kind of People is set in a small, wealthy American community where a popular teacher at a local prep school is charged with sexual assault. The book explores the perspectives of his wife, teenage daughter and adult son, a prominent family in the community now facing social exclusion.
"In these frightening times, I believe it is more important than ever to tell this tale of rape culture, and how a family and a community grapples with who should be believed, and how far empathy can stretch itself," said Polley to The Hollywood Reporter.
Polley is no stranger to adaptations of CanLit. She earned an Academy Award nomination for best adapted screenplay for Away From Her, which was based on the Alice Munro short story "A Bear Came over the Mountain." She recently wrote and produced a six-hour miniseries adaptation of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, which stars Sarah Gadon and will air on CBC and Netflix.
"I still can't believe it's happening," said Whittall in an email to CBC Books. "She's so iconic and makes such beautiful, meaningful films, that I'm just thrilled. Beyond thrilled. I know I can trust her with the material to transform the story for the screen."