Tommy Dorfman will be making her directorial debut by bringing the best-selling novel to the screen
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM (@TOMMY.DORFMAN)
I read Mason Deaver’s young adult novel, I Wish You All The Best, at the peak of the first lockdown in 2020. Despite being an avid bookworm, it’s rare that I’m so absorbed in a story that I finish it in the same day I pick it up. Not only did I devour all 329 pages, but as soon as I turned the last page, I let out a hefty sigh and it took all my self-control to not turn all the way back to the first page and read it all over again.
The story follows Ben De Backer, a non-binary teen who is thrown out of their house after coming out to parents. Forced to move in with their estranged older sister, Hannah, and enrol in a new school in attempt to survive senior year, Ben starts to suffer with anxiety. When fellow student, Nathan Allan (who can only be described as the purest cinnamon roll) takes Ben under his wing, their feelings for each other begin to change. Could this heartbreaking turn of events actually lead to a happy ending?
I’m so glad this story exists. It healed my inner-child as I read it as an adult. I can only imagine how much it would’ve changed my life if I’d read it as a teenager. So you can imagine my delight when it was announced that Tommy Dorfman – who publicly came out as trans in 2021 – would be making her directorial debut by adapting this novel into a feature film. As well as directing the film, Tommy is writing the screenplay and producing the feature.
Who has been cast in I Wish You All The Best?
Alexandra Daddario (The White Lotus) was the first reveal. She will be playing Ben’s older sister Hannah. Tommy shared the casting announcement on Instagram writing: “THE @alexandradaddario is hannah! 🥹😭 dreams coming true and i am so grateful to work with this one ♥️ thank you alex ♥️”.
While fans were excited by this news, #Benathan shippers were eagerly refreshing our feeds in hopes of finding out who would be playing these characters. And then the news hit. Corey Fogelmanis (Girl Meets World) and Miles Gutierrez-Riley (The Wilds) would star as Ben and Nathan respectively.
The cast also includes Amy Landecker (Your Honor) and Judson Mills (This Game’s Called Murder) as Ben’s parents, Lexi Underwood (Little Fires Everywhere) and Lisa Yamada (The Sound of Magic) as Ben’s friends, Meleika and Sophie.
And it seems like the cast have had a lot of fun together if these BTS snaps posted by Tommy are anything to go by.
A release date for the highly-anticipated film has not been revealed yet. In the meantime, if you haven’t read I Wish You All The Best yet, you can bide your time by doing so. And if you’re looking for a queermas read and more Benathan content, why not check out Mason Deaver’s accompanying novella I’ll Be Home For Christmas.
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