Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis has signed on for The Mazur/Kaplan Company and Olympus Pictures’ adaptation of Counting by 7s, based on Holly Goldberg Sloan’s bestselling novel. Wallis will play the story’s focal character Willow Chance, “a bright young girl who, after the death of her adoptive parents, is taken in by an unlikely surrogate family and an unfit guidance counselor. In the wake of tremendous loss, she rises to build a community that she heals and that heals her.”
In a statement Wallace shared that she was “honored” to play this role: “I love the message behind the story. I am excited to be a part of it and to see it come to life.” Wallis has really kept up her career momentum post-Beasts of the Southern Wild: she will next appear in the eagerly anticipated reboot of Annie, and will also be seen in Fathers and Daughters with Russell Crowe and heard in the animated feature adaptation of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet.
Sloan will also get a producing credit, and has previous screenwriting credits — including Angels In The Outfield and Made In America — so we’re hopeful that she will be the one adapting her book for the screen. Counting by 7s doesn’t have a director attached yet.
