Julia Roberts to Star in Film Adaptation of ‘The Bookseller’

According to a report by Deadline, the 2015 novel The Bookseller is officially making its way to the screen, as Crystal City Entertainment has bought the rights. Julia Roberts is set to star in the film, based on Cynthia Swanson’s debut novel.

The Bookseller, a New York Times bestseller, revolves around a single women named Katharyn ‘Kitty’ Miller and her friend Frieda who run a bookstore in Denver, Colorado in 1962. Kitty is content with her life, until she begins having dreams about being married with three children, which shows her a life she could have had. She is then forced to face the reality of her choice and her current life. Many have been comparing The Bookseller to the 1998 film Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow.

Swanson has a background in technical writing and marketing, and worked on the novel for over four years. Ironically, the Colorado-based author actually has a husband and three children, and lives in the affluent Denver neighborhood of Washington Park. She said she took some inspiration for the novel from her quick switch from single life to married life, and her confusion over which she preferred. For the book, she did a lot of research into the history of Denver, especially during the 1960s.

Roberts will produce via Red Om Films, along with partners Lisa Gillan and Marisa Years Gill. Jonathan Rubenstein and Ari Pinchot will produce for Crystal City.  Crystal City is known for producing George Clooney’s film The Ides of March starring Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamati, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. As far as The Bookseller, a screenwriter will be the next person on their list of creatives to find, followed by a director.

This year, Roberts will be providing her voice to Smurfs: The Lost Village, along with an all-star cast including Demi Lovato, Rainn Wilson, Ariel Winter, Mandy Patinkin, and Michelle Rodriguez. She will also be in the film adaptation of the New York Times bestseller Wonder about a boy with facial disformities, with Owen Wilson and Room’s Jacob Tremblay. Roberts won a Oscar in 2000 for her performance in Erin Brockovich. She also received nominations for Pretty Woman, Steel Magnolias, and August: Osage County.