Jane Fonda to Star in "The Correspondent" Film Adaptation

Two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda will star in “The Correspondent,” the upcoming film adaptation of Virginia Evans’ bestselling novel.

After a competitive seven-studio bidding war, Lionsgate landed rights to the project.

Fonda — whose producing resume boasts “9 to 5,” “Coming Home,” “The China Syndrome,” “On Golden Pond,” “The Dollmaker” and “Grace and Frankie” — will also assume that role along with Todd Lieberman of Hidden Pictures (“The Housemaid,” “War Machine”).

Cat Vasko (upcoming “Jour J (Unbridaled),” “Zero Stars: Do Not Recommend”) will adapt the screenplay and executive produce alongside Evans.

“The Correspondent” centers on the unforgettable Sybil Van Antwerp, “a sharp-witted, fiercely opinionated, retired lawyer who has long used letters to impose order on a complicated world — writing to friends, family, literary icons and one elusive recipient whose message she has never sent,” a synopsis explains. “But, when an unexpected letter from her past resurfaces, Sybil is forced to confront a long-buried chapter of grief, regret, and unresolved guilt.”

Evans’ breakout debut novel, published by Crown last spring, has sold more than 1 million copies and spent 17 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list.

Chelsea Kujawa and Pavan Kalidindi will oversee the project for Lionsgate. Carly Kleinbart Elter and Aydan Cohen will oversee for Hidden Pictures. Dan Freedman negotiated the deal on behalf of the studio.

“This book is a phenomenon,” Lieberman added. “To be invited in alongside the legend Jane Fonda, with my Lionsgate partners and Cat, is a thrilling honor — and we all can’t wait to have moviegoers experience the same catharsis that so many book readers already have.”