Drew Barrymore to produce and direct Heist Society

Drew Barrymore will produce and most likely direct an adaptation of Ally Carter's young adult novel Heist Society .

Barrymore has been made a producer on the Warner Bros project, and she'll supervise the writing. Whip It novelist and screenwriter Shauna Cross will adapt the novel, which found itself in the eye of a bidding storm last year.

The plot sees a young woman from a family of master thieves turn her back on her inherited lifestyle.

She's drawn back into the game when her father is accused of pinching a gangster's art collection, and she puts together a team in an attempt to steal the missing goods back.

The film version will see the characters' ages increase a little to become early-twentysomethings.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Barrymore is signed to direct How To Be Single , which she will complete before starting work on Heist Society . There's currently no word on whether she's expected to star in either of these projects.

Barrymore has been linked to Surrender Dorothy , one of many Wizard Of Oz spin-offs in pre-production, though looking at her schedule, it appears that one has been moved firmly onto the backburner.

Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.