Beauty may be skin deep, but the upcoming screen adaptation of Uglies will pull back the layers on a story about appearance, individuality and the quest for physical perfection. The feature-length film, based on the first book in a YA series by Scott Westerfeld, will begin streaming on Netflix on September 13. Uglies is directed by McG and executive produced by Westerfeld.
The story centers around Tally Youngblood, a soon-to-be 16-year-old who, on her milestone birthday, will join the rest of society and receive the gift of plastic surgery to transform her appearance. But when a friend who’s in line for the same procedure disappears and ultimately joins a group of rebels, Tally must decide between being loyal to her friend or sticking to her original plans. The cast includes Joey King (The Kissing Booth), Keith Powers (Straight Outta Compton), Chase Stokes (Outer Banks), Brianne Tju (Light as a Feather), and Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black). The screenplay was written by Whit Anderson, Jacob Forman, and Vanessa Taylor.
Beneath the Surface
It’s been nearly 20 years since the original publication of Uglies, but the central themes of body image and beauty, friendship and loyalty continue to resonate with contemporary readers. TikTok and Instagram influencers have been promoting the film’s premiere and introducing the series—which includes Pretties (2005), Specials (2006), and Extras (2007)—to a new fan base. Erin Toller, senior director, marketing, at Simon & Schuster, said, “We are excited to partner with Netflix to bring more readers to a series that deals with timely themes and topics.”
“When I was first writing it, it was very much about plastic surgery, whereas now it’s more about how we present ourselves online… and [this story] is more interesting to show onscreen,” Westerfeld told PW during a Netflix press event. He believes this is the right time to bring Uglies to a new audience because of the proliferation of A.I.-generated art and the tension between fact and fiction. “The idea of people reconstructing themselves goes into ideas of misinformation and the way we construct ourselves online. We may be telling the whole truth of ourselves or only the nice parts,” he said. This notion is illustrated throughout Uglies, where technological advances can work against humanity.
During production, Westerfeld had an opportunity to step outside his comfort zone as a writer accustomed to working independently. Wearing his executive producer hat taught him how to deal with conflict, negotiate with people, and handle the consequences of not getting the required take at 4 a.m. “The light may be fading, the rain is coming, or there’s a cloud moving across the sky—I was surprised at how many things there were that could mess up your day,” he said.
But as a writer first and foremost, Westerfeld hopes that his readers and moviegoers will watch the film simply for their love of a good story. He is excited by the infectious energy that teenagers who enjoy a particular book can produce organically. “They will create a cafeteria table of all the people who have read that book and who want to talk about it,” he explained. “The nutritional content doesn’t have to happen in the book; it happens in the conversations that you generate afterwards.”
Westerfeld’s hope is that the movie creates this same type of enthusiasm, as readers debate whether the actors looked as pretty at the start as they did by the end credits. “It’s such a big audience you have with a movie. Books trickle out one at a time, whereas those conversations about movies will only get larger and will move online in ways that they wouldn’t [otherwise] have.”
