“[Writer-director] Kelly Fremont Craig wanted to adapt this as a next job, and she took the crazy route of just writing Judy [Blume] a letter telling her that,” explains producer James L. Brooks about getting author Blume to finally grant the rights to adapt one of her most famous books, “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.” We talked to Brooks and fellow producer Julie Ansell as part of our “Meet the Experts” film producers panel. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
“Are You There God?” is a coming of age story about the title character, 11-year-old Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson), who questions her faith (or lack thereof) and anxiously awaits adolescence after her parents abruptly move her from New York City to the suburbs of New Jersey. “I read it as a kid. It was a very seminal book for me,” remembers Ansell. “You learn about puberty, you learn that you’re not alone in the world, and that’s what that book did for me. So when Kelly brought it up again, it was thrilling to be able to work on it.”
Blume herself “was perfectly involved” in the production, Brooks says. “She was a spirit. She was a cheerleader. She rooted us on. And the thing that all of us carry that you don’t carry on other pictures, which was murder, is the thought that you could possibly let Judy down because it’s her legacy work. And that was the most pressure I’ve ever lived with, but she was just an enthusiastic cheerleader for the work.”
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