Joey King To EP/Star In Film Adaptation Of Scott Westerfeld’s Sci-Fi Novel ‘Uglies’ For Netflix
Joey King (‘The Kissing Booth’, ‘The Act’) is to exec produce and star in a film adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s international best-selling-dystopian fantasy novel ‘Uglies’ Netflix has announced.
‘Uglies’ is set in a future dystopian world where everyone is considered an “ugly”. Their “solution” to this is to turn the population in a “Pretty” by forced extreme cosmetic surgery which conforms to an ideal standard of beauty when they reach the age of 16. The story follows teenager Tally Youngblood who rebels against society’s conformity when she is shown the downsides of becoming a “Pretty”.
King, who has been a longtime fan of the Uglies young adult book series, is coming off the back of Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG nominations for he work on critically acclaimed Hulu limited series ‘The Act’. She also starred in Netflix’s ‘The Kissing Booth’ and ‘The Kissing Booth 2’ which she also exec produced. Next she is set to co-star opposite Brad Pitt in Sony’s ‘Bullet Train’, and is attached to headline and exec produce limited series ‘A Spark Of Light’, by Sony Pictures TV based on the bestselling book by Jodi Piccoult. King will also produce and star in ‘The In Between’, written by Marc Klein, for Paramount.
Former ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Station 19’ showrunner Krista Vernoff will adapt the screenplay for ‘Uglies’. Her new show ‘Rebel’, inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich and starring Katey Sagal, was recently picked up straight to series at ABC. McG (‘The Babysitter’, ‘Charlie’s Angels’) is set to direct.
Joey King exec produces alongside Jamie King and author Scott Westerfeld. Producers include John Davis and Jordan Davis for Davis Entertainment Company; Robyn Mesinger for Anonymous Content; Dan Spilo for Industry Entertainment; and McG and Mary Viola for Wonderland.
‘Uglies’ does not yet have a premiere date, but the film will air on Netflix worldwide.
