Miguel Arteta to Direct YA Adaptation ‘All the Bright Places’

Miguel Arteta (Cedar Rapids) has been tapped to direct the adaptation of the young adult novel All the Bright Places starring Elle Fanning (Maleficent). The script by Jennifer Niven, who also wrote the novel it’s based on, follows Violet Markey (Fanning), a young woman who falls in love with a strange boy she meets at the top of a school clock tower.

Arteta is a bit of a journeyman director who has a number of television shows under his belt, including episodes of New Girl, The Big C, and Nurse Jackie. He also directed the 2009 adaptation Youth in Revolt, as well as the comedy Cedar Rapids (2011) and last year’s adaptation of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Most recently, he directed an episode of the Netflix series Grace and Frankie.

Fanning has a number of projects in the pipeline, including About Ray – formerly titled Three Generations – where she plays woman transitioning into life as a male. Fanning also just wrapped up work on Nicolas Winding Refn’s (Drive) The Neon Demon. No announcements have been made on whether she will return for the sequel to Maleficent.

All the Bright Places is currently set for release in 2017. No specific date has been announced at this time.