EXCLUSIVE: Lizzy Greene (Ransom Canyon) and Harry Collett (House of the Dragon) have been confirmed as the leads in coming-of-age love story Easy, an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Tammara Webber.
Australian director and producer Luke Eve, who is known for the web-series Low Life and High Life as well as the 2020 feature film I Met A Girl, directs the movie which recently wrapped principal photography in Malta.
Producers are Ryan Hamilton (Hotel Mumbai, Possessor), Addam Bramich (Poker Face, Ice Fall, Shiver) and Volodymyr Artemenko (A Working Man, Wife and Dog, Shiver) as well as author Anna Todd (Shiver), whose writing credits include the YA romance series After.
Greene, who also serves as an executive producer, stars as Jacqueline Wallace, a college freshman forced to rebuild her life after a traumatic event, while Collett plays Lucas Maxfield, the enigmatic classmate with a troubled past who becomes an unexpected source of strength and connection.
Self-published by Webber in 2012, Easy was heralded as a groundbreaking work in the new adult genre which was starting to emerge at that time.
Publishing rights were snapped up by Penguin/Razorbill for the UK and Penguin/Berkley for the U.S and the novel has also since been translated into more than 20 languages.
The production noted how the work has continued to resonate with readers over the past decade, for its honest depiction of trauma recovery and the power of self-empowerment and love.
“We optioned Easy many years ago as we adored Tammara’s book and we are very proud to bring this project to life with Luke at the helm and we couldn’t have imagined a better Jacqueline and Lucas in Lizzy and Harry,” said Hamilton.
“Lizzy and Harry bring both vulnerability and power to their performances—exactly what this story demands.” said Bramich.
Webber, who wrote another three novels in the same series, which came to be known as the Contours of the Heart series, also praised the lead actors as well as Eve’s direction.
“I’m thrilled to have Lizzy and Harry take my lead characters from page to screen under Luke’s skilled guidance and vision. What a spectacular team,” she said.
Producing partners Hamilton, Bramich and Artemenko have a raft of features in post-production including survival thrillers Zipline and Ascent as well as Shiver, an adaptation of the first book in the best-selling young adult fantasy series written by Maggie Stiefvater.
Their next production will be Spring Girls, an adaptation of author Todd’s modern-day retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
Greene is represented by Verve Talent and Literary Agency, Brave Artists Management, & Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Collett by Curtis Brown Group and Lucy Popkin at GGSSC; Eve by Feig Finkel and Webber by Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
Hamilton, Bramich and Artemenko are represented by Joseph Lanius and Jay Adelino of Convergence Media Law.