‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ Director Says She Wrote ‘Love Letter’ That Convinced Author Judy Blume To Adapt Book

Director Kelly Fremon Craig has revealed that she wrote a "love letter" that persuaded author Judy Blume to adapt her most iconic YA novel to the big screen.

During a conversation at Deadline's Contenders Film event, Craig — who also served as a writer and producer of the film — said she sought inspiration after directing the 2016 film The Edge of Seventeen. The first person who came to mind was Blume, who wrote 24 novels in addition to the one Craig ultimately adapted.

While rereading Blume's books, Craig noticed a social media post from the author that said she was considering optioning the rights to her novels. The only book that was off the table was Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, which follows sixth-grader Margaret Simon as she contends with puberty, friendship, and her parents' interfaith marriage. Originally published in 1970, the 149-paged book is credited with breaking societal taboos and introducing thousands of pre-teens to reading.

It was then that the director decided to pen a heartfelt missive to Blume, in which she revealed just how much the 85 year old's work impacted her life.

"I just poured my heart out and told her how much her work had meant to me. For as long as I can remember, she was really the first person who spoke to me and made me feel, especially at that age, that I wasn't alone," she said.

Once she was allowed to adapt the novel, Craig said she worried about tarnishing Blume's legacy — so much so that writing the first script left her "paralyzed." Co-producer Julie Ansell (who says she also read the book as a pre-teen) agreed with this sentiment, saying that it was important for them "to make Judy Blume happy" with the adaptation.

"That was sort of the pressure throughout the whole filmmaking and all of it, to really make a film that lives up to what the book is," she said.

The adaptation, which was released in April of this year, emerged to positive reception and received Heartland Film's 2023 Truly Moving Picture Award. The PG-13 film stars actors Rachel McAdams, Abby Ryder Fortson, Kathy Bates, and Benny Safdie.