Emma Watson To Star Alongside Tom Hanks In James Ponsoldt’s THE CIRCLE

Playtone and Likely Story announced today that Emma Watson (Beauty and the Beast, Noah, The Bling Ring) will star alongside Tom Hanks in James Ponsoldt’s upcoming feature adaptation of Dave Eggers’ novel THE CIRCLE. Shooting on the film will start September 2015 in California.

The feature adaptation of THE CIRCLE, has been written and will be directed by James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now). The film is being produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman for Playtone, Anthony Bregman for Likely Story, and Ponsoldt.

The film will be presented by Image Nation in association with Parkes MacDonald Productions. IM Global are handling international sales on the film. US rights are being jointly repped by UTA Independent Film Group and CAA.

Eggers’ novel focuses on a young woman (Watson) who is hired for a big job in an Internet monopoly called the Circle, which links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency.

The novel turns into a contemporary thriller about the perils of life in a digital age where personal data is collected, sifted and monetized and used for surveillance, rendering privacy obsolete.

“Emma Watson is one of my favorite actors, and her incredible talent, sensitivity, and deep intelligence will bring an electric energy to The Circle”, commented writer/director James Ponsoldt.

Watson is represented by WME (US), Untitled (US) and Markham, Froggatt and Irwin (UK).