Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal teaming up to produce scientist biopic

Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal are teaming up to produce an upcoming biopic –the duo are adapting Finding the Mother Tree, the recently published memoir by world-renowned scientist and ecologist Suzanne Simard. 

Adams is also set to star in the movie, playing Simard, who is known for first discovering how trees communicate underground through an immense web of fungi. Her work has inspired filmmakers and authors, including the Tree of Souls in James Cameron’s Avatar and the main character in Richard Powers’ novel Overstory (which is being adapted for the small screen by Hugh Jackman, David Benioff, and D.B. Weiss).

In her memoir, Simard writes about her journey as a mother, former logger, and trailblazing scientist whose revolutionary findings were initially dismissed and even ridiculed. At the center of her work are Mother Trees – mysterious, powerful forces that connect and sustain all the life that surrounds them. 

This may be the first time their production companies have joined forces, but Adams and Gyllenhaal have worked together before in front of the camera – the pair co-starred in 2016's Nocturnal Animals, playing an estranged married couple.

We can next see Adams in Netflix's psychological thriller The Woman in the Window and she's currently working on Disenchanted, the sequel to Disney's 2007 fantasy rom-com Enchanted. Meanwhile, Gyllenhaal's upcoming acting projects include Netflix's The Guilty with Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano, and Michael Bay's action thriller Ambulance alongside Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Eiza González. 

While we wait for Finding the Mother Tree to arrive in theaters, make sure you've caught up with all the best movies of 2020 first.