Lionsgate Picks Up The Film Rights To White Bird: A Wonder Story
by Erik Amaya
White Bird: A Wonder Story may have only been released today, but it is already on the way to becoming a feature.
Lionsgate announced earlier this morning that it has picked up the film rights to the graphic novel by R.J. Palacio. In it, Julian — a character from Palacio’s novel Wonder — learns of his Jewish grandmother’s childhood in Nazi-occupied France, from a “fairy-tale” life before the war to “how everything abruptly changed when the Nazi’s occupied France, and how the boy she and her classmates once shunned becomes her savior and best friend.”
“Lionsgate is enormously proud of our association with world class writers who speak from the heart and soul and with a powerful, authentic voice. There can be no more important, hopeful or inspirational message today than those found in R.J.’s books. She is an extraordinary talent,” said Nathan Kahane, President of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. “White Bird like Wonder is about taking risks, taking a stand and the power of kindness. It is about the power and consequences of being brave and we are thrilled to be adapting White Bird together with her and Mandeville Films.”
“They have been enormously supportive as I have been writing White Bird and I could not feel more secure that my new graphic novel is in the right creative hands at the right studio,” added Palacio.
Lionsgate and Mandeville previously adapted Wonder into a film starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay. Producers David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman return alongside Palacio for White Bird.