Sigourney Weaver to star in and EP 'the lost flowers of Alice Hart
Courtesy of AP/Harper Collins
From deadline.com May 17, 2021 by Peter White
EXCLUSIVE: Sigourney Weaver is to lead an adaptation of Holly Ringland’s bookThe Lost Flowers of Alice Hart for Amazon.
The streamer has ordered a series adaptation of the Ringland’s debut Australian novel with Weaver starring in and exec producing.
It marks the latest Australian original for Amazon Prime Video.
The seven-part series, a tale of female resilience, friendship, and the power to overcome tragedy, is produced by Made Up Stories, Amazon Studios and Endeavor Content and will be filmed in Australia.
The series will be adapted for screen by Australian writer Sarah Lambert (Lambs of Gods), who serves as the series showrunner with Glendyn Ivin (The Cry) set to direct.
It will be executive produced by Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Allie Goss of Made Up Stories, Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Lambert and Glendyn Ivin. The series will be produced by Barbara Gibbs and co-executive produced by Lucinda Reynolds.
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart follows a young girl, Alice Hart, whose violent childhood casts a dark shadow over her adult life. After a family tragedy in which she loses both her abusive father and beloved mother in a tragic and mysterious fire, nine-year-old Alice is taken to live with her grandmother June on a flower farm where she learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family’s past.
Set against Australia’s natural landscape, and with native wildflowers and plants providing a way to express the inexpressible, the family drama spans the decades as Alice grows from a child into a woman, is epic and visceral. Her journey builds to an emotional climax as Alice, once again, finds herself fighting for her life against a man she loves.
Erika North, Head of Originals, Asia Pacific, at Amazon Studios said, “This gripping and emotional story is a broad-skewing drama featuring strong female characters, written and produced by an incredible team of talented female film-makers, and set against a stunning local landscape. We are thrilled that the wonderful Sigourney Weaver signed on to this project to bring the complex and powerful story to life. We will continue to produce more local content, offering and unearthing compelling stories featuring Australian artists, writers and producers and are proud of the Australian originals we have created with local production partners.”
Executive producers Jodi Matterson and Bruna Papandrea added, “We are thrilled to be bringing The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart to Prime Video. The story is a compelling tale of female resilience, which will be perfectly embodied by the talented Sigourney Weaver. Holly has created a distinctive and powerful novel told with authenticity, courage and love. We have been a fan of Holly’s book for quite some time, a long-time admirer of Sigourney’s, and am excited to be partnering with Amazon Studios to bring this story to a global audience.”
Author Holly Ringland said, “Although I mostly wrote The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart thinking that no one other than me would ever read it, I wanted my novel to find its people – I was driven by a deep, aching desire for connection. To use my voice. To roar like I used to on bushwalks as a child, yelling cooee out into the Australian bush, waiting with breath held to hear someone else, unknown and unseen to me but on the same track, yell cooee back. I’m here. You’re not alone. It’s what I wanted to feel in my writing; it’s the feeling I wanted Alice and her story to give others. This is my wildest dream, seeing my first novel, Alice’s story, be brought to life on screen and for a global audience on Amazon Prime Video.”
Writer and showrunner, Sarah Lambert said, “From the moment I read The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart I knew I wanted to bring this story and these characters to the screen. It’s such a timely drama about family, love and relationships born out of the violence so often hidden neatly away behind closed doors. Leaving behind untold damage. However, it is also an extraordinarily hopeful story about women, resilience, friendship, and giving voice to the truth to finally break free of the past. I cannot wait to take audiences on this journey with the indomitable Alice Hart. There really is no better platform than Amazon Prime Video to bring this story to the world with their commitment to original voices and groundbreaking shows. “
Sigourney Weaver is repped by UTA and attorneys Alan Wertheimer and Darren Trattner.