Will summer moviegoers go for an old-school, middle-school romance set in the 1960s? Flipped, based on Wendelin Van Draanen’s 2001 coming-of-age novel of the same name—about two dissimilar eighth-graders, Bryce Loski and Juli Baker, whose longtime feelings for each other change abruptly—hits the big screen on August 27 (the film will have a limited release on August 6). Director Rob Reiner (The Bucket List; Stand by Me) co-wrote the screenplay with Andrew Scheinman, who worked with Reiner on North; Warner Bros. is distributing the Castle Rock Entertainment film. Actors Madeline Carroll and Callan McAuliffe will play the two 12-year-olds; the cast also includes Anthony Edwards, Rebecca De Mornay, and John Mahoney.
Knopf will release a tie-in paperback edition of Flipped on August 10 with a 100,000-copy first printing; in addition to a tie-in cover, the book will include a color photo insert, Q&A with Van Draanen, and an excerpt from the author’s Confessions of a Serial Kisser (2008). Random House will also be featuring Van Draanen on its RandomBuzzers Web site the week that the book goes on sale, where she will discuss the book, film, and writing.
This past Monday, Van Draanen attended the world premiere of Flipped in Hollywood with her family, but she’s also been busy setting up a red carpet-style premiere event she’s planning in her hometown of San Luis Obispo, Calif., on August 21. There will be two screenings of the film at the event, with all of the seats in the theater reserved for area students, who can win tickets through raffles at local schools and libraries. Local newspapers are also getting in on the act, holding a Flipped book review contest, with winners getting tickets to the premiere. Attendees will get free popcorn and soda, as well as a chance to win autographed copies of the tie-in edition of Flipped.
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. Knopf, $8.99 paper ISBN 978-0-375-86347-9
