Deadline has announced news that Gabriele Union has secured the rights to Juleah Del Rosario’s debut novel, 500 Words Or Less, which follows a young woman who begins writing college admission letters to Ivy League institutions for her peers in an attempt to shed her tarnished reputation.
The Being Mary Jane actress will work with Rebel Maverick and Amyale to turn the novel into a major motion picture. Union, who has produced projects in the past, has acquired the project through her I’ll Have Another Productions company and will be working on it in collaboration with Holly Shakoor Fleischer, Manaal Khan and Matt Nicholas. The former will oversee the production of the film for Union's company while the latter will work with Maverick and Amyale as part of the production team.
In a statement, Union said, “I am such a fan of young adult stories in general but this novel really got me. It is beautifully written entirely in verse and the exploration of identity and what that means to you and those around you is something that my production company is focused on exploring with all the stories we choose to tell. This one really hit home and I’m excited to be part of bringing it to life as accurately as we possibly can."
In another statement, Nicholas and Khan shared their anticipation and heralded Union's involvement."Gabrielle Union has championed the YA genre for years, giving us some of our all-time favorites," they said. "We couldn’t think of a better collaborator for this unique and poetic coming of age story."