After blowing us away with “Leave No Trace,” one of the best and most underrated films of 2018, writer/director Debra Granik turns her eye towards more urban living with “Like No Other,” her upcoming adaptation of the young adult novel of the same name. Published in 2015, ‘Like No Other’ is said to be a sort of contemporary take on “West Side Story,” following the forbidden romance between a Hasidic girl and a secular boy who meet on Eastern Parkway. Deadline reports that Granik and Anne Rosellini of Still Rolling Productions optioned the book in partnership with Mad Dog Film’s Alix Madigan. Granik will direct the film, which Rosellini and Madigan will produce.
READ MORE: Debra Granik On Finding That Right Ending For ‘Leave No Trace’ [Podcast]
In a joint statement. Granik, Rosellini, and Madigan said they were “pulled in immediately by the strength and complexity of young Devorah and the journey she takes to find her path in life,” continuing: “the world Una creates is one we want to live in – where unexpected friendships are made, and rigidity gives way to allowing for love and the acceptance of the ‘other.’”
According to Deadline, Granik also has an adaptation of Barbara Ehrenreich’s book “Nickel and Dimed” on the cards, which Rosellini will likewise produce. After taking a pretty long absence in feature film direction in the gap of “Winter’s Bone” and “Leave No Trace” (though she directed the “Stray Dogs” doc in between, not many saw), we’re glad to have another couple of projects from her confirmed to be lined up.