Judy Blume Won't Mind If You Cry

Michael Kosser For every new star on the recording scene, there is at least one unheralded industry drone without whom that star might never have shone. In the case of Blake Shelton, who is about to receive his well-deserved Hollywood Walk of Fame star after more than two decades as one of country music’s best, there are probably more like a dozen heroes who made Blake’s incredible career possible. One of those heroes is your humble Nashville correspondent, me. No, that’s the truth. Once or twice in your life the impossible hits you between the eyes and you need to be prepared if you want to turn it into pure sunshine before the inevitable eclipse drifts in.

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Selome Hailu Now in her eighties, legendary children’s author Judy Blume only recently became keen to the idea of adapting her books for the screen. But when it came to “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” — arguably Blume’s most famous title — her arms were crossed. She didn’t want any filmmaker to touch it. “And then I got this letter from Kelly,” Blume told Variety, smiling, in a cover story for March’s Power of Women issue. She’s referring to “The Edge of Seventeen” writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, to whom she eventually granted the screen rights. Blume was convinced for three reasons: the beauty of the letter that Fremon Craig wrote her, the fact that James L. Brooks mentored Fremon Craig and would serve as a producer on the film, and most importantly, the fact that Fremon Craig was the first person to pursue the rights whose work Blume had previously seen. Within a week of the letter, Fremon Craig and Brooks flew to Key West, Fla. to make an in-person plea to Blume; the rest is history. “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” hit theaters via Lionsgate on April 28.

At a time when theatrical is looking to distinguish itself with more prolific fare than the factory conveyor belt of humdrum product coming from streaming, it’s with great upset to hear that Lionsgate’s feature adaptation of Judy Blume’s pinnacle 1970 novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret fell greatly short at the box office with a $6.8M opening; below both the $7M-$9M that the studio was seeing, and the more bullish $10M+ that rivals spotted.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter It’s another weekend of box office domination for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which collected a towering $40 million in its fourth frame. Those ticket sales, down just 33% from the weekend prior, were easily enough to rule over the weekend’s newcomers, including literary adaptation “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” Finnish war drama “Sisu” and biopic “Big George Foreman.” After four weeks on the big screen, “Mario” has grossed $490 million in North America and $532 million internationally to loom even larger as the highest-grossing film of 2023. It’s also the first movie of the year to cross $1 billion globally, a distinction held by only five pandemic-era blockbusters.

Few authors have established as powerful a bond with their fans as Judy Blume. That incredible connection first manifested with the publication of her debut novel for young adults, 1970’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, which shattered taboos by candidly addressing subjects like menstruation and masturbation.  

J. Kim Murphy Are you there box office? It’s-a me, “Mario.” Now in its fourth weekend of release, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is still dominating the competition on domestic charts, fending off theatrical newcomers “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” “Sisu” and “Big George Foreman.” The adaptation of Judy Blume’s best-selling 1970 novel is faring the best among new releases. Opening in 3,343 locations, the coming-of-age film earned $2.25 million on Friday, a figure that includes roughly $600,000 in Thursday previews. That may be enough for the Lionsgate release to project a third place finish for the weekend, but it’s ultimately an underwhelming result for a crowdpleaser based on a literary mainstay that carries a $30 million production budget.

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As The Super Mario Bros Movie barrels toward a box office score that will make it the highest-grossing animated movie ever at the domestic box office, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 waits to pounce, Lionsgate is navigating the pre-summer calendar this weekend with two movies aimed at two different demos: the long-awaited feature take of Judy Blume’s 1970 novel, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret aimed at women, and their pickup of the Sony Stage 6 Finnish genre title Sisu, aimed at genre dudes.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, the adapted from of the same name. Fremon Craig's name is not on the billboard, but the billboard—and the movie—exists because of her. For nearly 50 years, after Blume's 1970 story about a young girl's honest and relatable journey through adolescence and puberty became a beloved classic, the 84-year-old icon (and ) turned down offers to adapt Margaret. It was too personal, too important for anyone to get other than absolutely right.

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, the film adaptation of Judy Blume‘s beloved novel, is now in theaters everywhere.

Brent Lang Executive Editor To get the chance to make a movie of Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” producer James L. Brooks and writer and director Kelly Fremon Craig made the pilgrimage to the beloved author’s home in Key West, Fla. “I spent most of our time with Judy warning her about Hollywood and all the things it will do to you — basically, I warned her about folks like me,” says Brooks, the Oscar-winning director of “Terms of Endearment” and the co-creator of “The Simpsons” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Blume chose not to heed the admonition. By the end of their sit-down, Brooks, Craig and Blume’s husband George were all hugging. The film rights were theirs. It turns out Brooks and Craig had an ace up their sleeve: Blume had loved their collaboration “The Edge of Seventeen,” a sensitively drawn look at a teenager navigating the minefield of high school while processing her dad’s death. It’s a coming-of-age tale that’s similar to “Are You There God?,” which depicts the challenges and mortifications of being on the cusp of puberty. On April 28, fans of the book will get to see how successfully Craig, Brooks and their collaborators pulled it off when the Lionsgate release opens in theaters.

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Naman Ramachandran Director Thordur Palsson has wrapped principal photography in Iceland on “The Damned,” starring Odessa Young. Newly revealed cast for the psychological horror film includes Joe Cole (“Gangs of London”), Siobhan Finneran (“Happy Valley”), Rory McCann (“Game of Thrones”), Turlough Convery (“Killing Eve”), Lewis Gribben (“Somewhere Boy”), Francis Magee (“The Tourist”), Mícheál Óg Lane (“The Guard”) and Andrean Sigurgeirsson (“A Song Called Hate”). The script was written by Jamie Hannigan and is based on a story by Palsson (“The Valhalla Murders”). “The Damned” tells the story of Eva, a 19th-century widow who faces a difficult decision when a ship sinks off the coast of her isolated fishing post in the middle of an especially cruel winter. Eva and her crew must decide whether to rescue the shipwrecked or survive the winter with their last remaining food. As they face the consequences of their decision and are tormented by guilt, the inhabitants begin to believe they are being punished for their choices.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.We’re so used to seeing teens played by twentys-omethings. What was it like casting actual 11-year-olds for this?Kelly Fremon Craig: The casting process was seeing every kid under the sun and really looking places that you don’t expect, trying to find kids from all over. A lot of the kids, this was their first ever thing.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Comes a time when even Neil Young is going to set foot on a stage again after the pandemic, and the recently gig-shy legend turned in his first substantial live performance in almost four years Saturday night at a benefit concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Young shared much of his time on stage with Stephen Stills, in a show that relied so much on material from their first run as fellow band members in the 1960s, it almost amounted to a true “Buffalo Springfield revisited” show. The two longtime cohorts’ appearances apart and in tandem would have been draw enough to fill the Greek Saturday for the “Autism Speaks Light Up the Blues 6 Concert,” a sixth edition of the recurring autism benefits hosted by Stills and his wife Kristen, this one postponed by three years from its original spring 2020 date. But there was plenty of star power besides, including sets by Willie Nelson, making a brief but impactful appearance in advance of his 90th birthday celebration next weekend at the Hollywood Bowl, and Joe Walsh, who ensured that Stills and Young did not have the guitar heroism to themselves.

Angelique Jackson Literary icon Judy Blume has been in the public eye for more than 50 years, but lately she’s been posing for even more cameras than usual. For the past few months, Blume has been everywhere — from the red carpet premiere of the feature adaptation of her 1970 classic “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret” in Los Angeles last week, to Variety’s Power of Women ceremony in New York City, where she was honored earlier this month. But on Monday night in Studio City, Calif., it was Blume’s husband George Cooper on the other side of a cell phone camera lens. As Blume was introduced to an eager (and pink-masked) crowd by 16-year-old Annabelle Chang, who owns Annabelle’s Book Club LA, Cooper sprang from his seat behind the desk to capture the moment on his cell phone.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. A new documentary about Judy Blume sheds light on the profound impact that the beloved children’s book writer had on a whole generation of young girls.