Blake Lively To Star In & Produce Lionsgate Action Rom-Com ‘The Survival List’ Based On Tom Melia Spec
After working with Blake Lively on the Another Simple Favor films, Lionsgate has acquired the Tom Melia spec The Survival List as a starring vehicle for the actress, which she’ll also produce, Deadline has confirmed.
An action rom-com, the film follows Annie, a highbrow reality TV producer who against her wishes, is assigned to a new show hosted by famous survival expert Chopper Lane. However, when a shipwreck strands them on a deserted island, Annie discovers Chopper is a fraud and knows nothing about survival, leaving her in charge of figuring out how to keep them alive. Forced to work together, they begin to discover an unlikely chemistry.
Marc Platt, the Oscar nominee behind the Wicked films and the recent live-action How to Train Your Dragon, is in talks to produce alongside Lively. Scott O’Brien will oversee the project for Lionsgate.
Recently caught up in a legal battle with Justin Baldoni surrounding their hit Sony film It Ends with Us that continues to unfold, Lively has just been seen starring in Amazon MGM & Lionsgate’s Another Simple Favor, where she reteamed with director Paul Feig and co-star Anna Kendrick. The sequel premiered on Prime Video in May after premiering at SXSW.
Set to release sequel Wicked: For Good via Universal in November, after seeing Wicked gross over $756M worldwide, Platt’s other recent global hit How to Train Your Dragon made over $626M in thesters.
Melia is a British writer best known for Rye Lane, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated for Outstanding British Film at the 2024 BAFTAs, also scoring 16 nominations at the British Independent Film Awards. He’s also written for the Sky drama series Brassic, as well as the Sky comedy Bloods.
