While twenty-somethings remain Hollywood’s hottest ticket in town, there’s nothing like when silver-screen legends shine like diamonds on the big screen. Focus Features debuted its Book Club: The Next Chapter trailer, showing what happens when four friends escape to Italy for food, fun, and plenty of frisky business.
Bill Holderman returns to direct from a script he co-wrote with Erin Simms. Book Club: The Next Chapter is the surprise sequel to 2018’s Book Club, also directed and co-written by Holderman and Simms. As you can see from today’s Book Club: The Next Chapter trailer, the sequel finds Mary Steenburgen (Back to the Future Part III, Step Brothers), Jane Fonda (Barbarella, Monster-in-Law), Diane Keaton (Something’s Gotta Give, The Family Stone), and Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown, Boston Legal) taking Italy by storm, and getting into trouble in the process.
In the Book Club: The Next Chapter trailer, Fonda’s Vivian reveals she’s engaged to Arthur (Don Johnson), which means the girls need to throw a bachelorette party in an exotic place. After boarding a plane to Rome, the ladies embark on an unforgettable adventure filled with love, laughs, and a never-ending assortment of dirty jokes.
The cast also features Andy Garcia, Don Johnson, and Craig T. Nelson, who appeared in the first film. Newcomers to Book Club 2 include Giancarlo Giannini, Hugh Quarshie, and Vincent Riotta. Holderman and Simms also produce.
According to the official description, the club’s vacation goes off the rails after secrets are revealed, sending them on a “once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.” Presumably, vistas will be enjoyed, pasta and vino will be consumed, and lessons will be learned. Books may enter into all of this too.
In 2018’s Book Club, four lifelong friends have their lives changed after reading 50 Shades of Grey in their monthly book club. The original film also stars Richard Dreyfus, Alicia Silverstone, Wallace Shawn, and Ed Begley Jr.
In September, Fonda revealed she has non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer that focuses on the immune system. She has begun chemotherapy treatment. The 84-year-old Jane Fonda will undergo chemo for cancer for six months, and she seems ready to embrace the change and challenge.
“Cancer is a teacher and I’m paying attention to the lessons it holds for me…One thing it’s shown me already is the importance of community. Of growing and deepening one’s community so that we are not alone. And the cancer, along with my age — almost 85 — definitely teaches the importance of adapting to new realities.”
According to WebMD, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Those at older ages tend to have a higher risk. But Jane Fonda, ever the badass, is confident about the cancer diagnosis. “This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky.”
Book Club: The Next Chapter turns a page in theaters on May 12, 2023.