EXCLUSIVE: Appropriate Behavior director Desiree Akhavan has been tapped to helm Adam, the film based on the novel by Ariel Schrag, who also adapted the screenplay. Howard Gertler will produce with Symbolic Exchange’s James Schamus and Joe Pirro serves as executive producer. Production is expected to begin in late Spring of next year.
Set in 2006 Brooklyn, the coming-of- age comedy tells the story of an awkward teenager who goes to spend his final summer of high school with his older sister, who has thrown herself into New York City’s lesbian and trans activist scene. Adam meets the girl of his dreams at a party; but there’s one wrinkle – he can’t quite figure out how to tell her he’s not the trans man she thinks he is.
Akhavan is also set to direct The Miseducation Of Cameron Post, an indie based on Emily Danforth’s 2012 novel that stars Chloë Grace Moretz, which Akhavan also adapted with Cecilia Frugiuele. In addition to directing, Akhavan wrote and starred in Appropriate Behavior, which premiered at Sundance and was nominated for Best First Screenplay at the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards.
Schrag’s other novels include graphic memoirs Awkward, Definition, Potential, and Likewise which chronicle her high school years. She has also written for television series such as HBO’s How To Make It In America and Showtime’s The L Word.