By Katcy Stephan, Matt Donnelly LINK TO VARIETY
“Past Lives” producer Christine Vachon and her Killer Films have joined Walden Media and Grade A Entertainment to produce “The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise,” a feature adaptation of author Dan Gemeinhart’s award-winning novel of the same name.
The middle grade novel was published in 2019 by Henry Holt and Co. to critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the 2019 Parents’ Choice Award Gold Medal. “The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise” follows 12-year-old Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, who have lived for the past five years on the road in an old school bus, crisscrossing the nation following the death of Coyote’s mom and two sisters in a car crash.
When Coyote learns the park in her old neighborhood is being demolished — the very same park where she, her mom, and her sisters buried a treasured memory box —she devises an elaborate plan to get her dad to drive 3,600 miles back to Washington state, a journey that leads her to confront her grief and discover her true self.
Anya Adams (“Prom Pact,” “Yellowjackets,” “Ginny & Georgia”) is set to direct from a script written by Liz Maccie (“Nonnas”). Vachon and Grade A’s Andy Cohen will produce. Walden’s Frank Smith and Ben Tappan will executive produce the film, along with Jack Heller and Brendan Deneen. Julia Friley is overseeing the project for Walden.
“Christine Vachon is one of film’s premier producers, and we jumped at the opportunity to work with her to bring Dan Gemeinhart’s heartwarming story to life on screen,” said Walden Media’s president of production Tappan. “’Coyote Sunrise’ and the life-affirming journey she takes with her father is the kind of instant family classic that deserves to be brought to audiences.”
Cohen said, “Every once in a while, you come across a book so moving that it demands to be turned into a movie. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a brilliant screenwriter like Liz Maccie turn that novel it into a stunning screenplay. If you win the lottery, you find an incredible director like Anya Adams and a producing partner like Christine Vachon who share a similar vision for turning your labor of love into a beautiful film for all ages. I can’t wait to get started.”
Walden is currently in production on the James Vanderbilt-directed feature drama “Nuremberg,” starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon. Walden produced the Apple TV+ limited series “Manhunt,” which premiered March 15, about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
Anya Adams is represented by Gersh and 3 Arts Entertainment. Liz Maccie is represented by Gersh and Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment.