Emily Blunt in Talks to Star in Annapurna Memoir Adaptation ‘Not Fade Away’

Emily Blunt is eyeing a role in Not Fade Away, an Annapurna drama based on the memoir by Rebecca Alexander, who was rare genetic mutation that caused her to lose her sight and hearing over time, with the belief that she would be completely deaf and blind by 30.

Deadline broke the news that Emily Blunt is in talks to star in Not Fade Away, based on the 2015 memoir Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found, which told the story of Rebecca Alexander, who was diagnosed with a rare genetic mutation called Usher Syndrome type III at birth and told by doctors that she would likely be completely blind and deaf by the age of 30. But Alexander overcame her condition, as well as a devastating fall at age 18 that left her body shattered, to become an decorated psychotherapist and athlete.

Here is the synopsis for Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found by Rebecca Alexander:

Born with a rare genetic mutation called Usher Syndrome type III, Rebecca Alexander has been simultaneously losing both her sight and hearing since she was a child, and was told that she would likely be completely blind and deaf by age 30. Then, at 18, a fall from a window left her athletic body completely shattered.

None of us know what we would do in the face of such devastation. What Rebecca did was rise to every challenge she faced. She was losing her vision and hearing and her body was broken, but she refused to lose her drive, her zest for life and – maybe most importantly – her sense of humor. Now, at 35, with only a sliver of sight and significantly deteriorated hearing, she is a psychotherapist with two masters’ degrees from Columbia University, and an athlete who teaches spin classes and regularly competes in extreme endurance races. She greets every day as if it were a gift, with boundless energy, innate curiosity, and a strength of spirit that have led her to places we can’t imagine.

David O. Russell and John Krasinski are attached as producers, though unlikely to direct the adaptation, which will be penned by Lindsey Ferrentino.

This role seems primed for awards season love, which Blunt may be pursuing after she had a stellar 2018, winning a SAG award for her performance in A Quiet Place and earning a Golden Globe nod for Mary Poppins Returns, but getting shut out of the Oscars for both acclaimed performances. However, Blunt’s potential casting comes with some criticism from the disabled community, which point to the adaptation being another ploy for an able-bodied actor to appeal to the Academy by playing a real-life disabled person.

No release date has yet been set for Not Fade Away.

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