Boy Erased film adaptation set for September release

The adaption of Boy Erased: A Memoir by Garrard Conley will now appear in cinemas in September instead of June 2018. Australian actor Joel Edgerton will be directing and producing his own screenplay of the true story of a small-town USA teen outed to his parents and forced into conversion therapy. 

The Australian connection has extended to the cast, with Garrard’s parents being played by Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman, though American actor Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel) playing the lead character.

Singer/actor Troye Sivan and filmmaker/actor Xavier Dolan will also be among the cast, while director Joel plays the conversion programs head therapist.

While in college, the 19 year-old Garrard was outed to his parents and given a choice, attend gay conversion therapy or be exiled from the family. Garrard chooses therapy, but as we know from the memoir, it was not an easy experience. A bidding war for the film in June 2017 meant it almost landed on Netflix or Amazon, with Focus Features winning the final rights ahead of Netflix. By August 2017 the cast had been announced and principle photography began on September 8 in Atlanta, Georgia.