Nicholas Hoult is confirmed to star in the dramatic film Rebel in the Rye for writer/director Danny Strong. Hoult will play novelist JD Salinger in the film adaptation of the biography JD Salinger: A Life written by Kenneth Slawenski.
Strong, Bruce Cohen, Jason Shuman, Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill, and Thad Luckinbill are producing, and Black Label Media is financing the project. BLOOM is handling foreign sales.
“The Catcher in the Rye is a classic coming-of-age story which continues to make a significant impression six generations later. The world has long been fascinated with JD Salinger, who the talented Nicholas Hoult will bring to life in this enigmatic role,” said BLOOM’s Alex Walton.
Hoult has starred in Mad Max: Fury Road, Warm Bodies, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Jack the Giant Slayer, Clash of the Titans, A Single Man, The Weather Man, and About a Boy. Strong’s writing credits include Empire, The Butler, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2, Recount, and Game Change. Strong won two Emmys for writing and producing Game Change as well as Writers Guild awards for Game Change and Recount.
The Plot:
Rebel in the Rye takes us on a journey into the life and mind of the legendary and secretive author and tells the story of the birth of The Catcher in the Rye. As the author who captivated a generation, JD Salinger soared to the heights of the literary world but left it all behind for a life of seclusion.
Through his rebellious youth, the bloody front lines of World War 2, enduring great love and terrible loss, a life of rejection to the pages of The New Yorker, and the PTSD-fueled writer’s block which led to a spiritual awakening.
