Actor-turned-filmmaker Olivia Wilde (“Booksmart”) is certainly making waves in the cinematic space and will be taking a crack at the television with the help of A24. After directing two feature films, including the most recent, “Don’t Worry Darling,” a report from Deadline reveals that Wilde is now looking to direct series adaptations of the Jennifer Egan novels “A Visit From The Goon Squad” and “The Candy House.”
“Goon Squad” takes place within the world of punk music world and should allow for an interesting take on the genre from Wilde. Meanwhile, “The Candy House” is more genre-focused and sees the protagonist wading in the waters of advanced technology involving memories.
Here is the official logline of the “Goon Squad” novel from Penguin Random House:
Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs.
A synopsis for “The Candy House” also comes from publisher Simon & Schuster:
The Candy House opens with the staggeringly brilliant Bix Bouton, whose company, Mandala, is so successful that he is “one of those tech demi-gods with whom we’re all on a first-name basis.” Bix is forty, with four kids, restless and desperate for a new idea, when he stumbles into a conversation group, mostly Columbia professors, one of whom is experimenting with downloading or “externalizing” memory. Within a decade, Bix’s new technology, “Own Your Unconscious”—which allows you access to every memory you’ve ever had and to share your memories in exchange for access to the memories of others—has seduced multitudes.
Wilde keeps adding various projects to her hectic schedule, with a sports drama “Perfect” that stars talented young actresses Mckenna Grace (“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”) and Thomasin McKenzie (“Last Night In Soho”) on the docket. She is also attached to direct a Marvel/Sony film that was reportedly said to be a version of “Spider-Woman.” Although it’s been months since this was reported, nothing was made official except the development of the project. Another project mentioned by the outlet is an untitled “Christmas Buddy” film she is also eyeing to direct for Universal Pictures.
