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When Colleen Hoover first landed on Hollywood’s radar, she was just happy to be there.
In 2020, as the bestselling author became the darling of BookTok, she sold the rights to three of her books — “It Ends With Us” and “Regretting You,” which were box office hits, and “Verity,” which debuts in theaters this fall.
“My career was at a different level back then. I had a sense of, ‘Someone wants to buy this! Take it. Do something well with it,'” says Hoover, who has been writing novels — 26 of them to date — since 2012. “It was just exciting to get an offer.”
Now Hoover wants more creative control over the adaptations of her books. That’s why she and her producing partner Lauren Levine (“Bridge to Terabithia”) launched the company HeartBones Entertainment. After serving as an executive producer on “It Ends With Us” and “Regretting You,” she’s stepping into a larger role as a co-producer for her next two projects, “Reminders of Him” (March 13) and “Verity” (Oct. 2).
She was particularly involved with “Reminders of Him,” adapting the screenplay with Levine before shopping the project around Hollywood to find a buyer. Universal emerged victorious in the bidding war for “Reminders of Him,” which follows a single mom who returns home after serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake.
“I went from being the author who visited sets to diving in head first,” Hoover says.
Ahead of the release of “Reminders of Him,” Hoover and Levine talked to Variety about why Hollywood underestimates the book world and if “It Starts With Us,” the sequel novel to her smash hit “It Ends With Us,” will ever be filmed.
Did you always envision your books cinematically? Could any of your novels be adapted, or do some work better for the big screen than others?
Hoover: When I write, I always see my books as a movie. I love film, so I write in a way that it translates well.
Levine: Colleen’s books grab me as a reader because her scene work is fantastic. I’ve always thought you see pictures when you read her books.
How involved are you in the development process of adaptations of your work?
Hoover: My first project was a limited series [2017 TV show “Confess”]. They would send me the scripts as they were writing it, and I would get the dailies as it was being filmed. I visited set once, and that’s kind of been the involvement I’ve had up until “Reminders of Him.” On this one, we co-wrote the script and shopped it around. We interviewed directors and were involved in every step of the process. I went from being the author who visited sets to diving in head first. I’ve learned so much about the film industry in the last couple of years. It’s been insane.
What are you looking for when studios or production companies pitch you on adaptations?
Hoover: I sold a few a long time ago. My career was at a completely different level back then. I had a sense of, “Someone wants to buy this! Take it. Do something well with it.” It was just exciting to get an offer. I had sold three all around the same time and decided to take a break from selling them, because I wanted to see if one of these productions panned out. It just so happened that all three of them were greenlit. In that timeframe, Lauren and I had started talking about creating HeartBones Entertainment and doing things ourselves.
What’s been the benefit of having your own production company?
Levine: With “Reminders of Him,” we decided to write the script before we had a development deal. It was good strategy for us. Sometimes you hear about development that takes forever, like the seven years it’s taken “Verity” to come to the screen. We’re a bit more impatient than that. We had fun creating a sense of the movie we wanted to make, and then finding partners who saw the movie the same way.
Do you have more confidence in these meetings after seeing the commercial success of “It Ends With Us” and “Regretting You”?
Hoover: Absolutely — especially after “It Ends With Us.” Readers really showed up for that one; the opening weekend blew our minds. For “Regretting You,” the book wasn’t as popular and didn’t have as big of a following, but it still surpassed expectations.
Levine: You never know in this day and age what’s getting somebody’s bum off their sofa. But it always amazes me how people are constantly surprised when these do well, as if they’re a breakthrough, radical idea. Female stories are really impactful, and guys like them too.
Hoover: I also think people underestimate the book world — hugely.
Levine: It’s starting to change.
In what ways is Hollywood underestimating the book world?
Hoover: For one, just the projection of what they think the movies will do, and how much those projections are surpassed. Also BookTok has been huge. I credit BookTok for the turn in my career after COVID, and a lot of other author’s careers. It’s made a lot of books popular that I now am seeing turn turned into movies.
Do you pay attention to the box office performance of your films?
Hoover: It’s new for me. With “It Ends With Us,” I had no idea what was good. I didn’t know if $2 million or $200 million was good. Seeing the reaction to that and “Regretting You,” now I pay attention to other adaptations and want to root for them. At the same time with “Reminders of Him,” I’m not nervous about it. There’s not a number in my head I’m trying to meet. I’m sure the studio has one, but I want to make the readers happy.
Do you want to see the “It Ends With Us” sequel novel “It Starts With Us” on the big screen?
Hoover: I wrote that book as a “thank you” to readers. I don’t know that there’s enough story to make a film. “It Ends With Us” was so impactful, and it was so well wrapped up in the first film. Of course, if they all came together and wanted to do it, I’m not going to talk anyone out of it. But when I wrote that one, it was never an intention to see it on film. I just wanted to see Atlas and Lily happy.
Do your book sales go up when a movie comes out?
Hoover: Absolutely. Any time there’s an adaptation, you’ll see a spike in book sales. I attribute a little bit to word of mouth. When people say, “I’m gonna watch this movie. Have you read the book?”
Do you prefer to stay true to the book, or are you open to making changes to the story?
Hoover: I don’t think I’m married to the book. Lauren is more married to the book than I am.
Levine: She was throwing her book under the bus the whole time!
Hoover: I have to keep readers in mind. First and foremost, what are they excited to see? What quotes do they hope make it in? But I love a good movie. If I don’t think something from the book is going work in the film, I’ll be the first one to say, “Let’s get rid of it.”
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