J.D. Salinger, the reclusive author who rejected movies and people invading into his private life, is about to get his own film biography. The Catcher in the Rye author is the subject behind Empire co-creator Danny Strong's feature directorial debut Rebel in the Rye, and he's got a fine young actor to lend himself into the captivating persona.
Variety reports Nicholas Hoult embodies Salinger in Strong's wide-scope narrative inside the man's life and mind. More specifically, he'll look into his rebellious youth, go into his experiences fighting in WWII, then journey inside his life of rejection and loss before he found the inspiration behind his widely-celebrated debut novel.
Strong operates from his own screenplay, adapted from Kenneth Slawenski's biography J.D. Salinger: A Life, and produces alongside Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, Thad Luckinbill, Bruce Cohen and Jason Shuman. Rebel in the Rye follows the 2013 documentary Salinger as the second pic to tell the man's story, and the first narrative feature to tackle the feat.
Funding still needs to come into place TIFF later next month, but production should begin sometime next year. In the meantime, Hoult finds himself at the destination for the North America premiere of Equals, which he starred in beside Kristen Stewart, which comes shortly after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. His involvement will surely drum up interest in the new biopic, as if the life story of Salinger from the man response for one of the most buzzed-about new shows on TV wasn't enough to get investors' interest.
Hoult only wrapped on production for X-Men: Apocalypse in the past week or so. The actor, having recently starred in Dark Places and Mad Max: Fury Road earlier this summer, can be seen in Kill Your Friends and Collide sometime soon as well.
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