Published back in the spring last year, Cheryl Strayed’s memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trailer was one of the best-selling books of last year, chosen by Oprah Winfrey to launch Oprah’s Book Club 2.0.
But even before it was published, Reese Witherspoon acquired the rights to turn it into a movie. Production is now officially underway, and Witherspoon has shared the first official photo from the set.
With the dissolution of her marriage and the death of her mother, Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) has lost all hope. After years of reckless, destructive behavior, she makes a rash decision. With absolutely no experience, driven only by sheer determination, Cheryl hikes more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. WILD powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddens, strengthens, and ultimately heals her.
Witherspoon is joined by a great cast, led by Thomas Sadoski, Gaby Hoffman, Laura Dern, Kevin Rankin, W. Earl Brown, and Michael Huisman.
Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club, Café de Flore) is at the helm, directing from a script penned by Nick Hornby (An Education), based on Strayed’s original memoir.
Wild is currently without a firm release date, but it wouldn’t come as a shock to anyone to see this emerge on the festival circuit next year (smart money says TIFF), before an Oscar-qualifying release before the end of 2014.
