So they want to do a girl-only version of Lord of the Flies.

I am simultaneously intrigued and cynical about this.

Bee Season and What Maisie Knew directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel are set to write and direct a female-centric film version of the iconic 1954 William Golding novel Lord of the Flies for Warner Bros., according to Deadline. The duo will reportedly stay true to the novel, except that the children who are stranded on the island will be girls.

“Intrigued” because, if they really do stay true to the novel, that will be one totally messed-up movie.  And I don’t mean it in a bad way; they’d be troweling on the psychological horror and cruelty with a, well, trowel.  “Cynical” in the sense that I don’t think that they’d quite dare make a female Lord of the Flies that’s also a straight-up horror story.

But hey, maybe I’ll be wrong.

7 thoughts on “So they want to do a girl-only version of Lord of the Flies.”

  1. I agree that a seeing a take on the an all female take on the breakdown of civilization once adults are removed is an interesting premise. I also agree that there’s little chance they’ll do it right.

  2. Lord of the Flies just does not work for females.

    NOT that I ever thought it worked for males.

  3. If this is a straight take on LotF, I’d be very interested.
    .
    If this will end up as a revision of the novel’s main thrust, on the grounds that girls are just generally nicer and better and cooler and prettier and awesomer than boys, and so would never allow themselves to descend into the regressive uncivilized behavior of the book…no thanks.

  4. I can’t believe I’m saying this.
    .
    But I think a straight gender flip would actually improve the story.
    At least, it would in our current age. In the view of a hundred years ago where women were a civilizing force that were not themselves civilized, such a flip would have been inane. But in the current less-naunced age of “Women Good!” it punctures a variety of shibboleths refuted by even the barest levels of observation.
    And dear Lord would the scenes centering on Piggy have emotional impact!
    .
    That said, I very much doubt a straight flip will be what happens.
    It would take too much courage from the actors, directors, producers, distributors, etc.

    1. This whole comment is great. It explains perfectly what I really could only hint had in the first line of mine. Thank you for taking the thoughts I couldn’t quite articulate and laying them forth with such clarity.

  5. No way they can just plug in girls where the boys used to be. There are laws about photographing shirtless, underage girls.

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