Universal Pictures has acquired the rights to the Alexandra Robbins’ nonfiction book THE OVERACHIEVERS, for Shawn Levy (NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM) to produce and possibly direct. The book chronicles high schoolers in Bethesda, Maryland as they strive and struggle to get into good colleges. Levy had this to say about the project:
“I read the book while I was at the tail end of the ‘Night at the Museum’ shoot, and it really spoke to certain experiences I had had as a 16-year-old, virtually killing myself to get into Yale, and I was kind of horrified to admit that I related to these kids. And there is something really unique about the culture right now where you have kids sacrificing the enjoyment of their youth to get to the next level. And the question is, what is the cost of ambition when you are 17 years old?”
That depends, Levy. Do you want to dick around in high school and grow up to be unemployed and depressed like my brother, or do you want to work hard, spend Friday nights studying, get into Yale like you, and grow up to direct Hollywood films and have nightly sex with numerous prostitutes in your hot tub? Tough call.
The blokes over at Cinematical checked the book out at Amazon.com (because who reads anymore?) and report that it details a stressed out girl losing her hair, and kids who try and cheat their way through, but Levy pledges to take a John Hughes approach to the whole thing and turn it into a biting teen comedy. This project has potential so here’s hoping that Levy and crew don’t underachieve on THE OVERACHIEVERS.
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