Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret | Lionsgate | April 28, 2023 | Kelly Fremon Craig directs. Based on the Judy Blume novel

[Eric the Ape]

https://deadline.com/2020/03/judy-blume-movie-deal-are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret-lionsgate-kelly-fremon-craig-james-l-brooks-1202872233/

 

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EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate won a multi-studio and streamer auction for the film rights to Judy Blume’s classic novel Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. Essentially, Lionsgate has committed to a green light on a film with a budget in the $30 million range, with Kelly Fremon Craig directing her scripted adaptation and Gracie Films’ James L. Brooks producing. Those two teamed up on The Edge of Seventeen, a movie adaptation that very much pleased Blume, who for decades turned down offers to film a seminal book that has been considered a right of passage for young girls.

 

Julie Ansell, Richard Sakai, Amy Brooks, Fremon Craig, and Blume will join James L. Brooks as producers. Deadline revealed that Blume had granted rights and approved Craig and Brooks, after they visited her in Key West. Lionsgate has been all over it since the author first mused on social media that the time might be right for her to finally see a film made. Lionsgate made a blind green light commitment as far back as a year ago.

 

A sixth grader who moves from the city to the suburbs, Margaret prays to God to watch over her and help her through her anxieties, including puberty and its changes to her body and her emotions. Blume’s frank, loving narrative has struck a chord with generations of readers, and the book was on Time magazine’s list of the top 100 works of fiction since 1923.

 

@WrathOfHan

[YM!]

 

Edited March 2, 2020 by YourMother the Edgelord

[YM!]

I loved this book as a kid and KFC directing, this is probably one of my most hyped upcoming films.

[movies!movies!]

Expected to Start Shooting Around the End of September in Cleveland, Ohio

 

https://productionlist.com/production/are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret/

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[Box Office Hit]

 

[BoxOfficeFangrl]

Will it be set in current times or 1970? Adolescent naivete about puberty is fairly timeless, though an inquisitive 11 year old girl now would hopefully get a decent/good sex education by then (IIRC, the story takes place in New Jersey, not some "abstinence only" hotbed) and Google the stuff her friends might be telling her that doesn't sound right. 

 

Religion is another big factor in the story, and for a contemporary adaptation the particulars would have to be tweaked. But The Baby Sisters Club show worked surprisingly well as a modern show, so it's not impossible here, just tricky. 

[Box Office Hit]

 

[Box Office Hit]

 

[lorddemaxus]

Find it cool that James L Brooks is continuing to support Kelly Fremon Craig. He always has a good eye for new up and coming directors (Penny Marshall, Cameron Crowe, Wes Anderson).

[filmlover]

Delayed to April 28, 2023.

 

‘Dirty Dancing’ Sequel Sets 2024 Release; ‘Are You There God?’ Heads To Pre-Summer 2023 – Deadline

[cannastop]

Oh well I guess Turning Red might help some scenes from the book (published in the 1970s) make it into this movie.

 

With the whole puberty thing. Well if Pixar did it, so can this movie.

[EmpireCity]

I continue to think Lionsgate is having financial troubles getting marketing together, or even more likely they are holding their film inventory for a potential buyer.  

 

This is the 4th movie they have moved or sold off in the last few months.  The Devil's Light moved very late from February to October, The Unbreakable Boy disappeared from the schedule, Shotgun Wedding was sold, and now Margarent is moving.  Still haven't set a date for Expendables 4 and Dirty Dancing won't be ready until 2024.  

 

They are asking for White Bird to trailer on films, so maybe that won't move. 

[Eric the Ape]

 

[filmlover]

 

[cannastop]

Saw the trailer for this with Puss in Boots 2.

[Eric the Ape]

 

[filmlover]

Really looking forward to this!

 

Hopefully it does okay-ish numbers at the box office, at least. Won't be another Where the Crawdads Sing but should also avoid going as low as The Edge of Seventeen did as well.

[BestPicturePlutoNash]

attended the early access screening

 

Craig can't frame an interesting shot but this was spectacular. I greatly prefer it to Edge of 17. It blossoms with affection and radiants with observant humor that will make it a sleepover classic for generations to come. Nails the fleeting passages of a book. 

 

Too bad it's gonna flop. The theater was totally into it. If this was A24 or Searchlight (as it should have been), it would make double what it actually will and Kathy Bates+Rachel McAdams would be in the running for Supporting Actress nominations at the Oscars

[stripe]

I am quite confident that this will be a BO hit

20M OW

75M DOM