Jennifer Aniston joins YA adaptation Dumplin’
Friends alum Jennifer Aniston has signed on to star in the upcoming film Dumplin’, according to Deadline. The film is based on the 2015 YA novel by Julie Murphy about child beauty pageants. Dumplin’ will be directed by Anne Fletcher (The Proposal, 27 Dresses) and was written by Kristin Hahn (the upcoming Stargirl). Aniston will star as Rosie, “a former beauty pageant queen who now runs the local Texas pageant.”
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The YA novel, which is Murphy’s second, is set around an overweight teenager named Willowdean, nicknamed “Dumplin'” by her mom. (Her friends call her Will.) Will is full of confidence and comfortable with her body, despite the fact that her mother Rosie was a beauty queen in her teen years. She doesn’t really mind getting teased about her weight. She meets a boy named Bo who might be interested in her and now Will is starting to have feeling of self doubt. She decides to enter the upcoming pageant Miss Teen Blue Bonnet, bringing along a bunch of misfits to enter with her. She and her mom Rosie have to deal with what they’ve done for each other, and change their relationship. The tag line for the book is, “Go Big or Go Home.” Murphy has also written the novel “Side Effects May Vary” and has one called “Ramona Drowning” coming out later this year.
The film was originally at Disney, though it’s now being produced through Michael Costigan’s (Ghost In the Shell) COTA Films. Dumplin’ will be produced by Costigan and Hahn.
What do you guys think of the Dumplin’ story? Did you read the book? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @ComingSoonnet.
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