Jane Fonda, 88, Is Bringing Beloved Bestseller ‘The Correspondent’ to Life—See the Exciting Details
From the plot to the production team, here's everything you need to know about this highly anticipated adaptation.
Dear readers, we have some exciting news: The Correspondent is officially being turned into a movie starring none other than Academy-Award winning actress Jane Fonda! That’s right, Jane Fonda is going to be starring as Sybil Van Antwerp in a film that is sure to delight and inspire. Below, we share all the details on the adaptation, including details on the plot and release date.
What we know so far about ‘The Correspondent’ movie
The Correspondent movie was exclusively announced by Deadline earlier today. It will be made by Lionsgate, written by Cat Vasko and produced by Todd Lieberman and Fonda herself. It’s expected to follow the same plot novel, which was written by Virginia Evans.
In the book, a woman named Sybil Van Antwerp writes letters to her friends, family, strangers and authors, even as her health begins to deteriorate.
“We could not be more honored that Virginia, Jane, and Cat have chosen us to be their studio partner on this project. This book spoke to so many people on our team who found Sybil’s story and character deeply moving, and we believe Jane, Virginia, and Cat responded to the genuine enthusiasm and personal touch that we bring,” Erin Westerman, president of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a statement.
“And there’s no one better to shepherd the project than our friend Todd Lieberman at Hidden Pictures, who alongside his colleague Carly Elter produced another successful book-to-screen adaptation in The Housemaid. This is a perfect team—we’re thrilled to have won the trust of all—and we can’t wait to get started.” Westerman continued.
Evans herself also commented on the news, writing in an Instagram story, “News of the day!
“Just beyond thrilled,” the author continued. “What a life. Let’s make a movie!”
Prior to this announcement, Evans has spoken quite frequently about the publishing process. The author even said on the New York Times Book Review podcast that she “didn’t think I was going to publish this book.”
“I had been writing books for a long time that had not been successful, and I had a book out for sale to editors, and it was not selling,” Evans continued. “And so I wrote this book, what I was calling a palate cleanser. I was thinking, ‘I’m gonna write a book that’s just a book I wanna write.’ I think I had the courage to do that because I didn’t think anyone would ever see it. I didn’t have any intention of giving it to my agent. I was just going to write it and then tuck it away.”
The Correspondent has since become a New York Times bestseller and has over 300,000 ratings on Goodreads.
Get to know the ‘The Correspondent’ movie cast
Currently, Fonda, age 88, is the only confirmed cast member. Her other credits include Barbarella (1968), Klute (1971), Julia (1977), Coming Home (1978), 9 to 5 (1980), Monster-in-Law (2005) Book Club (2018), Grace and Frankie (2015 to 2022) and 80 for Brady (2024).
“This book is a phenomenon. To be invited alongside the legend Jane Fonda, with my Lionsgate partners and Cat, is a thrilling honor,” Lieberman said in a statement. “We all can’t wait to have moviegoers experience the same catharsis that so many book readers already have.”
‘The Correspondent’ movie release date
As of publication, The Correspondent movie doesn’t have a release date.
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