Julia Roberts has had success with based-on-truth drama; she won an Oscar for Erin Brockovich, to cite just one example. She now has her eye on a twisty new tale of real-life envy and revenge, agreeing to star in and produce an adaptation of a new book called I’ll Get You!: Drugs, Lies, And The Terrorizing Of A PTA Mom.
The book, co-written by Kelli Peters (the victim of the centre of the story) alongside a New York Times journalist working under the pen name Sam Rule, hit book shelves in the US earlier this month. It tells of Peters, a president of the Parent Teacher Association and volunteer at her daughter's elementary school in California who was accused by another mother of keeping her son waiting during the afternoon pick-up. The confrontation led to the mother and her husband (both lawyers) kicking off a campaign to demand that Peters be banned from the school, launching a lawsuit against her and even framing her for drug possession.
Peters was arrested and investigated, and then vindicated and after a five-year nightmare, won a $5.7 million civil judgement against the couple. Her battle was recently documented by a feature article in the LA Times, written by Christopher Goffard.
It's early days for this one – there's no writer or studio attached yet – but it has already attracted the attention of George Clooney, who may leap on board to co-produce.
Roberts, last seen alongside Clooney in Money Monster, is working on novel adaptation Wonder.