Back in June of 2011, I read a delightful graphic novel presented by Russian writer and illustrator Vera Brosgol entitled ANYA'S GHOST. As I found myself lost in Brosgol's fantastical world of phantoms and friendship, I was told of a tale that follows Anya, an unpopular 16-year-old who gets stranded in an underground cave where she rescues Emily, the apparent ghost of a teenage girl who died a century earlier. Initially, Anya thinks her new “friend” may be the best thing that ever happened to her. But the relationship has unforeseen consequences for Anya, her friends and her family.
Today, Deadline has announced that Emma Roberts (SCREAM QUEENS, THE BLACKCOAT'S DAUGHTER) will star as questionably friendly specter in the Dan Mazer-directed feature-length adaptation of the story. Produced by Jeremy Bolt through his Bolt Pictures banner, and Benedict Carver by way of his Bullitt Entertainment studio, ANYA'S GHOST will present audiences with a supernatural comedy which proves that friends are hard to come by, even after you're dead.
Writing the screenplay for the adaptation is A MONSTER CALLS author and screenwriter Patrick Ness, which should signal to you right away that this film could be a tear-jerker, among other things. In the year that Brosgol's fantastical graphic novel was published, the comic book creative went on to win an Eisner Award, Harvey Award and Cybils Award for the titles undeniable excellence.
Be sure to stay close for more news concerning ANYA'S GHOST as it takes shape. And please, if you meet any ghosts in a creepy, abandoned cave … maybe don't have them follow you back to where you sleep at night, yeah?