‘Wish You Were Here’: Julia Stiles To Make Directorial Debut On Romantic Drama Adaptation

In news that makes this Julia Stiles super fan extremely happy, the 10 Things I Hate About You star is set to make her feature directing debut on Wish You Were Here. Deadline describes the film as centering “on Charlotte, a woman who finds herself in a rut, searching for a spark that seems just out of reach. After she has a whirlwind night of romance and imagining a future with a man named Adam, he ghosts her. When Charlotte finally discovers that Adam is terminally ill, she helps him spend his last days living life to the fullest.”

Sounds like the kind of role Stiles would be perfect for in front of the camera. However, she’s not expected to take an acting role. Instead, she will focus on directing. The script was co-written by Stiles and author Renée Carlino, based on the latter’s book.

Stiles isn’t a complete novice to directing. She helmed episodes of the short-lived series Paloma back in 2013-2014.

From the earliest stages of her career it was clear to me that Stiles was ahead of other actresses her age. Performances in 10 Things I Hate About You, Save the Last Dance, and State and Main established a pretty high bar, and led to roles in the Jason Bourne franchise, Hustlers, Mona Lisa Smile, and more. She’ll be seen next in The God Committee, which premieres at Tribeca tomorrow and opens on July 2nd.

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.