Anna Marais.
Yvonne Adcock was 12 when her mother sold her virginity for $500. She spent 23 years as a prostitute on the streets of Oklahoma City until she turned her life around.
Her story so inspired and moved Australian actress/novice producer Anna Marais, she spent six months trying to persuade the American to sell her the movie rights.
Last Friday the deal was signed and Marais intends to play Adcock in the film tentatively titled A Brand New You, which she will produce. Marais has teamed up with US-born, Melbourne-based writer/executive producer Robert Lewis Galinsky on the project.
Galinsky is working on a treatment and he told IF that he may consider writing the script “if it doesn't screw with my head too much.” Already offers to finance the film are coming in from private investors including a couple of women whose husbands are investing in other Galinsky projects.
Asked why it took so long to reach a deal with Adcock, Galinsky said, “She has been through so much and is very, very wary, but also very open to miracles. Anna had a lot of conversations and emails and letters and activity back and forth. It took months to share with her this was going to be very spiritual, hopeful, and heartfelt—but it would explore the darkest days too.”
Adcock now lives in Mississippi, has found God and plans to open a home for women who are escaping the life of prostitution, addiction and human- trafficking.
As for potential directors, Galinsky said Marais is a big fan of Shekhar Kapur, whose credits include Bandit Queen, Elizabeth and the sequel Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and The Four Feathers, but it's early days.
Ever-ready to liken his projects to iconic films, Galinsky vows that A Brand New You aims to be “gut-wrenching but ultimately a bit of The Blind Side meets Erin Brockovich with a touch of Monster tonally.”
He adds, “Anna is an amazing actress who is about to really be discovered and this is her vehicle to lay it all out on the line. “