Brian Selznick is set to adapt his own young adult novel Run Away With Me for the screen, with producer Gianni Nunnari bringing the Rome-set queer romance to film through Hollywood Gang Productions.
Nunnari, who was born in Rome, will produce the project. Deborah Belford de Furia, James Canellos and Michael Ritter are attached as executive producers.
Published by Scholastic in 2025, Run Away With Me was Selznick’s first novel written specifically for young adults. The story combines prose with more than 100 pages of the author and illustrator’s artwork.
A First Love Unfolds Across Rome
Set during the 1980s, the coming-of-age story centers on Danny, a 16-year-old American spending his summer in Italy. His stay takes an unexpected turn after a chance meeting with Angelo, a mysterious Italian boy.
As Danny and Angelo explore Rome’s streets, monuments and ruins, their encounter develops into an intense first love. Their relationship is also connected to other love stories from the 17th century, 19th century and 1940s, tracing a broader history of queer romance that continued even when such relationships were hidden or erased from the record.
The boys’ growing closeness is complicated when Angelo’s secrets begin to surface. Danny is left to face the possibility that both the romance and the seemingly timeless summer around them cannot last forever.
For Nunnari, the material carries a personal connection to both its setting and its period.
“Run Away With Me is a universal story of love in the Eternal City, set in the 1980s, when I was falling in love with love and with Rome itself,” Nunnari said. “For me, bringing Brian’s story to the screen feels very personal.”
Selznick said the film’s central message was a key part of his enthusiasm for the adaptation.
“I’m thrilled my book is being brought to life by such an extraordinary team,” he said. “We’re all eager to tell a story that affirms the importance of love, a message that feels more urgent now than ever.”
Selznick Returns to Screenwriting
Selznick is the Caldecott Medal-winning author and illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Martin Scorsese adapted that book into Hugo, which won five Academy Awards.
His novel Wonderstruck also became a feature directed by Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore, with Selznick writing the screenplay. His other books include The Marvels, Kaleidoscope and Big Tree. The latter originated from an idea developed with Steven Spielberg.
Nunnari’s producing credits include the 300 franchise, Immortals and From Dusk Till Dawn. He was an executive producer on The Departed and Se7en, and most recently executive-produced Roland Emmerich’s swords-and-sandals epic Those About to Die in Rome.
De Furia said the pairing of the book and Hollywood Gang may initially appear unexpected, but described it as a strong fit because of Nunnari’s interests in storytelling, history, love and Rome, as well as Selznick’s creative approach.
“Run Away With Me pulses with the electricity of first love and the discovery that our own love stories belong to a history much larger than ourselves,” she said, adding that Rome itself “plays a starring role.”
ShowBiz Take
The most notable creative choice is Selznick’s direct involvement as screenwriter. The film will be shaped by the author who created not only the novel’s central romance and interwoven historical narratives, but also its extensive illustrated component.
The project also brings together two creators with clear connections to the material. Selznick has previous experience adapting his own work for film, while Nunnari’s personal ties to Rome and his recent production work in the city align closely with a story in which the setting is integral to the romance.
That combination gives the adaptation a defined creative foundation: an author handling his own screenplay, a Rome-born producer leading the film, and a narrative that connects one summer of first love to queer relationships across several centuries.
What Happens Next?
Nunnari is expected to use his longstanding relationships in Hollywood and the European production community to mount the film on location in Rome. Selznick will write the adaptation, while Hollywood Gang Productions oversees the project with its announced executive-producing team.
Selznick is represented by CAA.