Sartaj Singh
Alex and Poppy’s endearing saga is heading to Netflix! The Cinemaholic has learned that the streaming platform has acquired the feature film adaptation of Emily Henry’s bestselling novel ‘People We Meet on Vacation.’ The movie’s filming will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Barcelona, Spain, between September 2 and October 31, 2024. The project is helmed by Brett Haley with a screenplay by Yulin Kuang. The rights to the novel were acquired by 3000 Pictures in 2022. Tom Blyth and Emily Bader headline the cast.
The plot revolves around Alex and Poppy, best friends who have very little in common except for their annual ritual of meeting up every summer for a week of unforgettable vacationing. Poppy lives in New York City and has an ever-present wanderlust, while Alex prefers to remain indoors with a book in his small hometown. However, after a disastrous trip to Croatia, the two have not been on speaking terms. In a bid to revive their friendship, Poppy reaches out to Alex for their final trip. They meet up at a laid-back resort in Palm Springs and figure out what they mean to each other.
Haley is known for directing Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons’ musical comedy ‘Hearts Beat Loud,’ Netflix’s romantic drama ‘All the Bright Places,’ the teen drama ‘All Together Now,’ and Sam Elliott-starrer ‘The Hero.’ Kuang is a China-born writer and director whose writing credits include ‘Love on Iceland,’ ‘I Ship It,’ and ‘Love Daily.’ Her latest directorial work encompasses projects such as Hulu’s ‘Dollface,’ Netflix’s ‘The Healing Powers of Dude,’ and The CW’s ‘I Ship It.’
Blyth is known for playing William H. Bonney in MGM+’s Western series ‘Billy the Kid,’ Coriolanus Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,’ and Archie Baldwin in HBO’s period drama ‘The Gilded Age.’ On the other hand, Bader played Lady Jane Grey in Prime Video’s ‘My Lady Jane,’ Chloe in The CW’s ‘Charmed,’ and Margot in ‘Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin.’
Published by Berkley Books in 2021, ‘People We Meet on Vacation’ secured the #1 spot on The New York Times bestseller list for more than a year and won the Goodreads Choice Award. For Henry, the book is one of her many works that has been picked up for an adaptation. Her other bestseller, ‘Funny Story,’ is being adapted into a movie by Lyrical Media and Ryder Picture Company, with the author writing the screenplay herself. ‘Book Lovers’ and ‘Beach Read’ will be turned into films as well.
As Kuang began writing the film, she said, “There [are] more locations than a James Bond movie in here. But it is doing what I want to do in terms of romance and reinvigorating the genre. I think rom-coms can have this flattened feeling sometimes because we associate comedy with it so much. But I think there are things on the bluer side of the human emotional spectrum within Emily’s work that I really resonate with.”
New Orleans has served as a backdrop for movies like ‘I Love You Phillip Morris,’ ‘Forever My Girl,’ ‘Tall Girl,’ and ‘Last Holiday.’ Romantic comedies that feature Barcelona as a prominent location include ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona.’
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