Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Amy Adams to star in Ron Howard’s Hillbilly Elegy for Netflix

JD Vance’s memoir played into conversations about the US presidential election and what role white working class communities played in Donald Trump’s campaign

Clarisse Loughrey
Friday 05 April 2019 09:15 BST
Comments
(Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Amy Adams will star in Netflix‘s adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy, directed by Ron Howard.

Variety reports that The Shape of Water‘s Vanessa Taylor will write the screenplay, based on JD Vance’s bestselling memoir, about the Appalachian culture of his family and his own upbringing in Ohio, where his mother’s parents moved when they were young.

The book reached the top of The New York Times Best Seller list after its publication in June 2016, with the book playing into conversations about the US presidential election and what role white working class communities played in Donald Trump’s campaign.

However, Hillbilly Elegy has also faced criticism, with Salon‘s Jared Yates Sexton writing that Vance ”totally discounts the role racism played in the white working class’s opposition to President Obama.”

The film has been in development since 2017, when Imagine acquired the rights, with Netflix boarding the project in January after it won a heated bidding war to finance the $45m feature.

Adams will next be seen in another adaptation of a New York Times bestseller, Woman in the Window, starring across from Julianne Moore in the Joe Wright-directed film.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in