Catherine Hardwicke Guiding The Age of Miracles

After decades as a production designer, Catherine Hardwicke made her directorial debut and breakthrough with the Oscar-nominated teen drama Thirteen. With follow-ups like The Nativity Story, Twilight and Red Riding Hood, Hardwicke has developed a niche for coming-of-age dramas with a fantastical bent. Having recently wrapped on the psychological thriller Plush, this daring writer-director is lining up another eccentric coming-of-age tale, The Age of Miracles.

Based on the best-selling debut novel of Karen Thompson Walker, this sci-fi drama is set in world thrown into chaos when the Earth's rotation begins to slow down. The concept of time changes as days and nights drag on and on, wreaking havoc on the tides, animals, and human behavior. This potentially apocalyptic narrative is told through the eyes of a 10-year-old girl named Julia, who must face tragedies and triumphs both everyday and extraordinary with her parents, who are on the brink of divorce.

Hardwicke will direct from the script penned by Seth Lochhead, who wrote the scintillating teen-assassin thriller Hanna. River Road Entertainment is producing with founder Bill Pohlad. At this point, there is no word on when The Age of Miracles hopes to go into production. But it will have to wait at least until Hardwicke completes directing duties on the CBS’ drama pilot, Reckless, which is now shooting.

In the meantime, Plush is expected to hit theaters later this year. In the seemingly twisted pic, Emily Browning stars opposite Cam Gigandet as a young woman who can see the memories hidden in the minds of others, a trait she shares with her shocked psychologist.

Kristy Puchko

Staff writer at CinemaBlend.