Zoey Deutch To Star In ‘Before I Fall’, Next Movie From Awesomeness Films

EXCLUSIVE: Zoey Deutch has been tapped as the star of Awesomeness Films’ next feature film project Before I Fall, the adaptation of the 2010 YA novel by Lauren Oliver that originally was set up some time ago at Fox 2000. Now it’s at Awesomeness Films, the movie division of multichannel platform AwesomenessTV that has already seen digital success with this year’s output Smosh: The Movie and last year’s Expelled.

Ry Russo-Young will direct Maria Maggenti’s Black List script, with revisions by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The plot centers on Samantha Kingston (Deutch), a high school senior who finds that she may be living the last day of her life over and over until she gets it right. If you had only one day left on earth who would you kiss, who would you tell the real truth to, who would you save? Amid that, she must untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Awesomeness Films founder Brian Robbins and newly minted president Matt Kaplan who moved over from Lionsgate are producing with Jon Shestack. The plan is to start production in late October primarily on location in Vancouver. UTA packaged the film.

Deutch’s recent credits include Warner Bros’ Beautiful Creatures and The Weinstein Company’s Vampire Academy, and next up is Richard Linklater’s Boyhood follow-up Everyone Wants Some. She also is the female lead in Dirty Grandpa opposite Robert De Niro and Zac Efron. She is repped by CAA and Gilbertson Entertainment.

Awesomeness Films’ current projects keying on the young-adult crowd include the Bella Thorne-starrer Shovel Buddies, and the Dance Camp pic with Jon M. Chu (Jem And The Holograms) producing that marks the first co-production deal between Awesomeness and YouTube. Awesomeness is co-owned by DreamWorks Animation and Hearst.

Russo-Young is repped by WME and Mosaic.