After her stunning, profitable, and attention-grabbing performance in True Grit, Paramount is quite keen to stay in the Hailee Steinfeld business, and are developing a movie around the young starlet. Whether she walks away with Oscar gold or not, Steinfeld can still be quite proud that a major studio has already purchased the rights to an as-yet-unpublished novel to build up as a motion-picture around her. Called Forgotten, the book is about a teenage girl who can see the future, but has her memories erased every night (at 4:33 specifically). London Lane is her name, and she lives a Leonard Shelby-style life in which oft-referenced notes and an understanding friend (no tattoos it seems) allow her to live a fairly normal life. The story turns into a romantic tale as London has her already bizarre life complicated by a boy who doesn’t seem to figure into her future, despite her interest in him. This sounds simultaneously like another Twilight-influenced teen story, but it also has a weird ring of being a sort of Groundhog Day-in-reverse type movie.
I’d definitely want to learn a little bit more about the book and the other creative talent involved with the film before making a judgment call, but perhaps Paramount is trying to find that sweet-spot between the blossoming supernatural high-school romance story (a genre that has branched out from its vampiric origins and been continued by bullshit like I Am Number Four) and the young-person-centered prestige flick? The author of the books plans Forgotten as a standalone novel, so this is not necessarily a new franchise starter, but it certainly has that Twilight ring to it. They can’t all be Coen Brothers projects, but I surely hope Steinfeld isn’t diving into lowest-common-denominator nonsense that quickly, or even into well-pedigreed but ultimately disastrous indulgences like The Lovely Bones.
Frankly, I’m just happy for her and hope she’s well-nurtured as an actress and a stable real-life human being. Too many times this kind of ultra-fame and attention heaped onto a young person results in serious talent being squandered. If Steinfeld possesses any of the characteristics of the pragmatic little girl that has launched her to the top though, I’m sure she’ll keep a level head and be a powerhouse for a long time.
Forgotten, by Cat Patrick, will be released in June. There’s not word on a start date for the film.
Source | Deadline
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ALSO: Speaking of True Grit, I’ve got a friend that’s entered into an interesting little typeface design/pairing contest, and has used the Coen flick as an inspiration for her pairing. Frankly, this is one of the oddest contests I’ve ever seen- it’s about choosing pairs of typefaces that complement each other well, along with a color scheme. “Rooster Cogburn” is the name of her pairing, and you can check it out here, and vote for it to win the contest if you think it’s great.