Amy Adams to star in 'Finding the Mother Tree' movie
A movie adaptation of Suzanne Simard's memoir, Finding the Mother Tree, is officially happening. Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal have bought the adaptation rights, and Adams will star in the lead role. Simard is a scientist whose works have been widely appreciated for having a "planetary significance." She has inspired the works of James Cameron, like the Tree of Souls in Avatar, among others.
'It transformed my views of the world,' Adams says
Gyllenhaal called the project "part charming memoir, part crash course in forest ecology." Adams and Bond Group co-founder Stacy O'Neil also spoke highly of the book. They said, "Creatively, i excited us with a narrative about the awe-invoking power of nature and the compelling parallels in Suzanne's personal life. It forever transformed our views of the world and the interconnectivity of our environment."
'It's a call to action to protect the natural world'
"Finding the Mother Tree is not only a deeply beautiful memoir about one woman's impactful life, it's also a call to action to protect, understand and connect with the natural world," their statement concluded. Finding the Mother Tree was published via Knopf on Tuesday.
What is 'Finding the Mother Tree' all about?
Adams will produce and star as Simard in the movie. Simard is a world-famous scientist and ecologist who discovered "how trees communicate underground through a web of fungi." She talks about "how trees, living side by side for hundreds of years, have evolved, how they perceive one another, learn and adapt their behaviors, recognize neighbors, and remember the past." Other details are still awaited.
Who is Suzanne Simard?
Simard is a forest ecology professor at the University of British Columbia. She was a part of the documentaries Do trees communicate and Intelligent Trees. Her life was the inspiration for Richard Power's The Overstory, a novel that won the 2019 Pulitzer for Fiction. She popularized the term "mother tree," the large trees in a forest that help in nutrient exchange among trees.
Gyllenhaal, Adams have worked together in the past as well
This isn't the first time Adams and Gyllenhaal are collaborating. Their 2016 thriller movie Nocturnal Animals, co-starring Michael Shannon was widely loved. Shannon also received an Oscar nomination for it. It's based on the novel Tony and Susan by Austin Wright. The official synopsis reads, "An unhappily married woman receives a manuscript from her ex-husband causing her to reexamine her life and reawaken long-lost feelings."
