Katie Holmes to star in adaptation of best-selling book 'The Secret'

Variety

Katie Holmes apparently believes in the power of positive thinking. The former Dawson’s Creek star will appear in a feature film adaptation of The Secret, the self-help book that postulated that human beings can control the universe with their minds and manifest their desires through the law of attraction. Somehow quantum physics also comes into play.

It may sound scientifically dubious, and the book did attract its fair share of criticism, but the controversy only fueled sales. The Secret was a publishing phenomenon, selling 30 million copies around the world.

The picture will be directed by Andy Tennant, who is best known for overseeing hit romantic comedies such as Sweet Home Alabama and Hitch. Bekah Brunstetter, a writer on NBC’s hit drama This Is Us, will adapt Rhonda Byrne’s best-seller, with participation from Tennant and his longtime writing partner Rick Parks (Ever After: A Cinderella Story).

It sounds like the source material will inspire a story that’s in keeping with the principles that The Secret laid out rather than be a straight adaptation. The film will center on a hard-working widow with three children who hires a handyman to fix her house during a terrible storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.

Robert Cort will produce the film with Covert Media CEO Paul Hanson, whose company will finance and handle worldwide sales on the feature.

"I am so excited that the film version of The Secret is finally here," Byrne said in a statement. "This movie will not only be a great thrill for The Secret fans across the planet, it’s also certain to ripple out and touch millions more people."

Holmes will next be seen in Steven Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky and will have a cameo in Ocean’s Eight, the all-female Ocean’s Eleven spinoff. Her credits include Pieces of April, Wonder Boys, and Batman Begins.

Holmes is repped by ICM, Untitled Entertainment, and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern. Tennant is repped by Paradigm and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush & Kaller. Brunstetter is repped by WME.

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