After the year we’ve had, we’re all going to deserve a holiday-season treat. And it looks like the Janeites among us will be getting one.
The U.S. rights to Modern Persuasion, a romantic comedy starring Alicia Witt that updates Austen’s last completed novel to pre-pandemic New York, have just been sold to Samuel Goldwyn Films. While the new movie doesn’t quite have a release date, it does have a release month: December.
No word yet, as far as I can see, on whether the movie will be available via streaming, in theaters, or both. (Hey, who knows if theaters will even be open come December? Sigh.)
Persuasion updates are hard to pull off, and I’ve been skeptical about this project since the get-go, but these days, I’m in no mood to be picky. Hang up your stockings, light those Hanukkah candles, and break out the popcorn!
While we're waiting for December to get here, we can spend our time scrounging for new gossip about the planned adaptation of Persuasion, Jane Austen's actual novel (Original Persuasion, maybe? Not-So-Modern Persuasion?). That project is at a much earlier stage, but with the way the world is going these days, we may need a holiday treat next year, as well.