Michael Sheen and Eva Longoria will star in a film adaptation of James Patterson and Ted Safran’s The Twelve Topsy-Turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas, Variety reports.
Patterson and Safran’s novel, published in 2022 by Little, Brown, follows Will and Ella Sullivan, two kids who set up a dating profile for their widowed father, Henry, and correspond with a woman who replies. A critic for Kirkus praised the book as “a delightful Christmas story to be shared by the whole family.”
Sheen, known for his roles in films including Frost/Nixon, The Queen, and Midnight in Paris, will play Henry in the film, titled The 12 Days of Christmas, while Longoria (The Young and the Restless, Desperate Housewives) will star as Mariana, an animal protection worker investigating the family.
The film is being directed by Ben Gregor (Cuckoo, Bloods) and written by Safran. Patterson and Safran will serve as executive producers.
Patterson has three other books currently being adapted for the screen: Run, Rose, Run, co-written with Dolly Parton; Eruption, co-written with the late Michael Crichton; and the forthcoming Billion-Dollar Ransom.
“I had an absolute blast writing The Twelve Topsy-Turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas with Tad Safran,” Patterson told Variety. “We couldn’t be more excited about Michael Sheen and Eva Longoria leading the cast. The same goes for…Ben Gregor.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
