Wild, a best-selling book of Cheryl Strayed’s journey on the Pacific Crest Trail is about to become a movie staring Reese Withersoon. HollywoodReporter.com reports that …
“Fox Searchlight has acquired worldwide rights to Wild, a screen adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling memoir that will star Reese Witherspoon. The film is scheduled to begin production in the late fall once a director is chosen and will be overseen by Fox Searchlight Pictures president of production Claudia Lewis and senior vp production David Greenbaum.”
Photo by: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
The book recounts how Strayed, after the dissolution of her marriage and the death of her mother, decided to a hike a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. It rocketed to fame and became a New York Times best-seller with help from Ophra Winfrey’s book club. It is the second major film that has been optioned after a major U.S. long distance hiking trail.
You might recall from earlier this year that Robert Redford decided to direct and co-star in an adaptation of Bill Bryson’s A Walk In The Woods that chronicles his adventures on the Appalachian Trail. The project was originally set to start filming this year but has yet to begin production.
Thru-hiking circles frequently note that neither author actually completed these 2000+ mile National Scenic Trails, but sometimes the best trail tales are those with unfinished business.