The upcoming Beach Read film adaptation is already sparking mixed reviews of the cast — and author Emily Henry has finally weighed in.
“I also have to sit back and, like, let it unfold,” Henry, 35, said on the Tuesday, May 19, episode of Today With Jenna and Sheinelle. “I mean, it is our baby, the readers’ and my baby, but it’s almost the filmmakers’ baby and the studio’s baby. I’m along for the ride with the readers, and we just have to trust, you know, the vision.”
A film version of Henry’s 2020 novel, Beach Read, is currently in development from director Yulin Kuang. Actors Phoebe Dynebor and Patrick Schwarzenegger have been cast as lead couple January Andrews and Gus Everett, respectively. Schwarzenegger’s portrayal, particularly, has already garnered mixed reviews from fans who don’t believe he will fit the bill as moody author Gus.
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“It is so surreal, and I also just keep getting emails about everyone else that they’re locking in, which is not public news yet,” Henry teased of the rest of the cast. “I can’t share, but I’m getting really excited. They’re starting filming really soon.”
According to Henry, director Kuang, 36, is “brilliant” and undoubtedly will do “an amazing job” in bringing Beach Read to life.
Kuang has also defended enlisting Schwarzenegger, 32, to play Gus.
“‘Patrick is a slow burn,’ is what I wrote in my notes after meeting him for the first time. There was something about the way he talked about his feelings on love and romance that I couldn’t forget,” Kuang wrote via Instagram last month. “I was unconvinced we’d found our Gus, because I knew we had to be exhaustive in our efforts, given how important this character is to readers. We saw a lot of men for this role.”
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She continued, “We reviewed a lot of tapes, sent a lot of avails checks and took a lot of meetings over a six-month period. I have always maintained that we are not casting a character, but a relationship. Once we knew Phoebe would be our January, my efforts became more focused and specific — not on who would play the best Gus according to the text, but who would play the best Gus opposite our specific January.”
After a chemistry test with Dynevor, 31, Kuang realized that the White Lotus alum was the right choice.
“The moment Patrick sat across from her, there was something electric in the room with us,” she wrote at the time. “‘There’s magic to chase here,’ I wrote in my notes afterwards. I checked in with Phoebe after the reads and she said, ‘It’s obviously Patrick, isn’t it?’ and I thought to myself, ‘So she feels it too.’”
Henry’s novel People We Meet on Vacation has already been adapted for Netflix. Her books Funny Story, Happy Place and Book Lovers were also optioned for the big screen.
