Director Kirk Jones will be behind the lens for the rom-com adaptation of Heidi Murkoff's how-to manual What to Expect When You're Expecting.
Lionsgate has previously acquired from Phoenix Pictures worldwide rights to the screen adaptation of the bestselling must-have pregnancy book. Heather Hach wrote the first draft.
Heather brings to the table very clever ideas, not to mention a terrific track record of creating comedies that are instant classics,”
said Alli Shearmur, Lionsgate President of Motion Picture Production.
After short, last fall, Whip It! scribe Shauna Cross was hired to rewrite the script. And now, the film has a director, Kirk Jones, who made his breakthrough with Waking Ned Devine, and is well-known for helming Nanny McPhee and Everybody's Fine.
What to Expect When You're Expecting was named one of the 25 most significant books of the last 25 years by USA Today. Read by 93% of eager mothers and considered the pregnancy bible, it has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. The book was translated into over 40 languages and has remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over 440 weeks. The series, which includes What to Expect the First Year and The Toddler Years, among others, has sold over 40 million copies.
This wildly original romantic comedy follows the relationships of seven couples as they experience the thrills, terrors, surprises, aches, and pains of preparing to embark on life's biggest journey: parenthood.
Phoenix Pictures' Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer and David Thwaites are producing, and Doug McKay is co-producer. Murkoff and husband Erik Murkoff are exec producers with Alan Nevins.
The plan is to get the movie in front of cameras sometime this spring. Stay tuned for further information.
