Gabrielle Union, Breaking In and Being Mary Jane star and producer, has just acquired the film rights to the YA novel “500 Words or Less” alongside Rebel Maverick and Amyale, according to Deadline.
Written entirely in verse, Juleah del Rosario’s debut novel follows Chinese-American high school student Nic Chen who, in an attempt to salvage her reputation with her Ivy League-obsessed classmates, agrees to write all of their college admission essays. In the process, she discovers big truths about herself ranging from the kind of person she is to how skewed her moral compass may be.
“I am such a fan of young adult stories in general but this novel really got me. It is beautifully written entirely in verse and the exploration of identity and what that means to you and those around you is something that my production company is focused on exploring with all the stories we choose to tell. This one really hit home and I’m excited to be part of bringing it to life as accurately as we possibly can,” Union stated.
The search is currently underway for the right writers to adapt this novel, which debuted last week to generally positive reviews, but Union is attached to produce alongside Manaal Khan and Matt Nicholas.
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Union most recently starred in the Universal thriller Breaking In, which she also produced, which received generally negative reviews but was a box office hit, with the majority of critics still praising her performance in the film. She will next be seen in the two-hour movie finale of her acclaimed series Being Mary Jane, which has yet to set a premiere date, and the upcoming TV spinoff of the hit Bad Boys franchise, L.A.’s Finest, which was recently picked up by Spectrum for a 13-episode first season.
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