Sally Field Stars in Remarkably Bright Creatures Film Adaptation

Shelby Van Pelt’s freshman novel Remarkably Bright Creatures will be adapted into a feature film starring two-time Academy Award-winning actress Sally Field, according to a report by Variety. In the best-selling book (colloquially referred to as “that octopus book”), readers follow Tova Sullivan, who’s recently lost her husband and found work the night shift at a local aquarium. To add insult to injury, Tova also lost her son Erik 30 years earlier, when he was reported missing after last being seen on a boat in the Puget Sound. Tova eventually finds companionship with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium.

Remarkably Bright Creatures’ Cast & Crew

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The film adaptation of Remarkably Bright Creatures will be a Netflix original and helmed by Olivia Newman, the filmmaker who also made Where The Crawdads Sing and First Match. Along with John Whittington, Newman will also be writing the script for the film. Whittington’s past scribe credits are a slew of blockbuster animated features including Sonic the Hedgehog 3, The Lego Batman Movie, and DC League of Super Pets. As of right now, no other actors have been announced to join the film, but the crew is certainly shaping up.

David Levine of Anonymous Content is producing Remarkably Bright Creatures alongside Bryan Unkeless. Sally Field’s own son Peter Craig, an accomplished screenwriter with credits on the modern blockbusters Top Gun: Maverick and The Batman, has also signed on to produce the film adaptation. The executive producers on the project include more Anonymous Content employees, namely Tony Lipp and Alyssa Rodrigues.

Where You Might Know Sally From

Sally Field is a legendary actress in Hollywood who started at the young age of 16. She first caught audiences’ attention by starring opposite the late legend Burt Reynolds as Carrie in the 1970s action/comedy film Smokey and the Bandit. During the movie, the two are initially at odds but eventually fall for each other. Art does imitate life, as Field and Reynolds would start dating following their time working on Smokey I and Smokey II. The two dated for five years and made four movies together before calling it quits.

Field went on to start in Norma Rae in 1979 as the titular single mother and textile worker unionizing with her coworkers. The California native would go on to win numerous awards for her commanding performance, including her first Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Field’s next most regarded role would be for her portrayal of Edna Spalding in Places in the Heart, a film that follows Edna as she attempts to save her 40-acre farm with the help of her two kids and anyone who can lend a hand. She was again lauded for her acting prowess and won her second Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Actress, cementing her place as a phenomenon.

Over the years, almost any role she landed would become a memorable film character. She went on to play M’Lynn Eatenton in the slice-of-life family film Steel Magnolias, Celeste Talbert in Soapdish, and Miranda Hillard in the Robin Williams-led comedy classic Mrs. Doubtfire. Field is also very capable with adapted works: she crushed it playing Forrest Gump’s mom in Forrest Gump, Aunt May in the Amazing Spider-Man movies, and Mary Todd Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.