Her first major Hollywood studio starring performance in the Sony Pictures remake of Annie some months away from its theatrical premiere (December 19, 2014), Quvenzhané Wallis has landed what will be another starring role, this time in an adaptation of author Holly Goldberg Sloan’s New York Times bestselling young adult novel, Counting by 7s.
Set up at The Mazur/Kaplan Company (launched in 2009 by Hollywood producer Paula Mazur and prominent independent bookseller Mitchell Kaplan, with the objective of producing literary properties for film and TV), Counting by 7s tells the story of Willow Chance, a 12 year old genius, coping with the loss of her adoptive parents, and the community of people that rise to become her surrogate family.
Here’s an official synopsis, including some explanation for the title:
Willow Chance is a 12-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life… until now. Suddenly, Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world.
The novel was one of Amazon.com’s “Best Books of 2013,” calling it “delightful, powerful, and beautifully written.”
If you’ve read it, please share your thoughts in the comments section below. The premise is certainly intriguing, and with Wallis starring, I’m even more curious.
Up next for Ms Wallis is the drama, Fathers and Daughters, which is based on a Black List script penned by Brad Desch. It stars Russell Crowe, Diane Kruger, Amanda Seyfried, and Aaron Paul, in what is being described as a love story between a father and daughter living 25 years apart in New York City. Octavia Spencer is also a member of the cast.
She’s also voicing a character in Salma Hayek’s animated feature adaptation of Khalil Gibran’s classic novel The Prophet.
Pick up a copy of Counting by 7s, the novel, HERE.
The Mazur/Kaplan adaptation’s status is currently in development.
