Harrowing Conversion Therapy Memoir "Boy Erased" Being Turned Into Hollywood Film Directed By Joel Edgerton
Loving actor Joel Edgerton is stepping behind the camera to direct Boy Erased, an adaptation of Garrard Conley's 2016 memoir about his experiences being forced into conversion therapy as a teen.
Manchester By The Sea's Lucas Hedges will play Conley, the son of a Arkansas Baptist minister who was sent to Love in Action after being outed at age 19. Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman are in talks to play his parents.
Edgerton, who wrote and produced 2015's The Gift, will co-star as the head of the group that claims to be able to "cure" homosexuals. In his book, Conley recounted the brutal treatment he suffered as part of Love in Action's program, as well as the strength he discovered to embrace his true self.
Deadline reports the film, which Edgerton also wrote, will start shooting in the fall and could be snapped up by Netflix, Amazon or Focus Features.