Paul Feig hasn’t had the easiest year. After a string of comedy hits—”Bridesmaids,” “The Heat,” “Spy“—the director went blockbuster with “Ghostbusters,” and immediately faced backlash from hardcore fans who feared that women might ruin their precious childhood memories. It didn’t help that the final result didn’t get the best reviews either, nor that Dan Aykroyd publicly slammed the movie. Now, Feig is taking the gloves off and intriguingly shifting gears.
Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick have signed up to star in the thriller “A Simple Favor,” which will be written and directed by Feig. Based on the novel by Darcey Bell, the story follows a mommy blogger whose best friend disappears. Here’s the book synopsis:
A single mother’s life is turned upside down when her best friend vanishes in this chilling debut thriller in the vein of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.
It starts with a simple favor—an ordinary kindness mothers do for one another. When her best friend, Emily, asks Stephanie to pick up her son Nicky after school, she happily says yes. Nicky and her son, Miles, are classmates and best friends, and the five-year-olds love being together—just like she and Emily. A widow and stay-at-home mommy blogger living in woodsy suburban Connecticut, Stephanie was lonely until she met Emily, a sophisticated PR executive whose job in Manhattan demands so much of her time.
But Emily doesn’t come back. She doesn’t answer calls or return texts. Stephanie knows something is terribly wrong—Emily would never leave Nicky, no matter what the police say. Terrified, she reaches out to her blog readers for help. She also reaches out to Emily’s husband, the handsome, reticent Sean, offering emotional support. It’s the least she can do for her best friend. Then, she and Sean receive shocking news. Emily is dead. The nightmare of her disappearance is over.
Or is it? Because soon, Stephanie will begin to see that nothing—not friendship, love, or even an ordinary favor—is as simple as it seems.
So, blogger crime solving thriller? Umm….well, we like the casting so far, so let’s hope the premise has a little more to it. Filming begins in August. [Deadline]