Lulu Wang
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Lulu Wang has announced plans to write and direct a science fiction film, ‘Children of the New World’.  Although specifics about the plot are under wraps, the story is being adapted from Alexander Weinstein’s short story collection of the same name, which has the following description (via Amazon):

Children of the New World introduces readers to a near-future world of social media implants, memory manufacturers, dangerously immersive virtual reality games, and alarmingly intuitive robots. Many of these characters live in a utopian future of instant connection and technological gratification that belies an unbridgeable human distance, while others inhabit a post-collapse landscape made primitive by disaster, which they must work to rebuild as we once did millennia ago.

In “The Cartographers,” the main character works for a company that creates and sells virtual memories while struggling to maintain a real-world relationship sabotaged by an addiction to his own creations. In “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” the robotic brother of adopted Chinese child malfunctions, and only in his absence does the family realize how real a son he has become.

Children of the New World grapples with our unease in this modern world and how our ever-growing dependence on new technologies has changed the shape of our society. Alexander Weinstein is a visionary new voice in speculative fiction for all of us who are fascinated by and terrified of what we might find on the horizon.

Wang has said her film will “continue exploring the evolving dynamics of family.”  Her previous film, the comedy-drama ‘The Farewell’ revolved around a Chinese family who learns that the matriarch doesn’t have much time left to live and stage a fake wedding in order to assemble the family before she dies.  The cast was all Asian and included Awkwafina.  It was a Sundance Film Festival selection and is scheduled to open in select theaters this weekend.

Producer Dani Melia of Big Beach stated:

“We had an incredible experience collaborating with Lulu Wang on The Farewell and are thrilled to be making another film with this visionary director, this time working alongside Votiv and exploring a completely different space and genre.”

Fellow producer Justin Lothrop of Votiv added:

“Lulu and I have been friends for years now and we’re very excited to be collaborating with her on such an incredible project. When we started on this journey with her, I don’t think we could have imagined a better partner than Big Beach, and we couldn’t be more pleased about working with them on this.”

Are you a fan of Weinstein’s book?  Are you looking forward to a film adaptation?

 

Source: Deadline