Hillbilly Elegy adaptation snagged by Netflix

After a fierce bidding war, Netflix has snagged the much-anticipated film adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy.

Ron Howard will direct while Vanessa Taylor — co-writer of The Shape of Water — will adapt the screenplay. Imagine Entertainment secured the movie rights to the J.D. Vance’s memoir in 2017.

Netflix is expected to fully finance the project, which could reportedly ring in at $45 million. Like Roma, Netflix’s critical darling from Alfonso Cuarón that’s currently vying for Oscar’s Best Picture prize, Hillbilly Elegy could get a theatrical bow before it shows up on the streaming service.

Deadline Hollywood first reported the news.

Hillbilly Elegy is a best-seller about growing up poor in the Rust Belt. A victim of abuse like his mother, Vance escaped his past by joining the military and attending college and law school. He eventually became a venture capitalist and, of course, a successful author.

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