The life of J.D. Salinger has always been an intriguing mystery. Author of The Catcher in the Rye (1951) and Franny and Zooey (1961), Salinger was a notorious recluse. He rarely granted interviews and, during his later years, completely abstained from publishing. His death in 2010 ushered in a renewed and unrestrained public fascination with him: Salinger, a 2013 documentary and 900-page biography, strived to make sense of the writer through interviews with friends and historians. Now, the biopic Rebel in the Rye is coming — starring British actor Nicholas Hoult as America’s literary legend.
The film will explore the events that led up to Salinger writing a beautifully nuanced and beloved character like Holden Caulfield. Illustrating Salinger’s college years and his time served in World War II, the new trailer shows us that the writer’s formative years were just as tumultuous and alienated as Holden’s.
“I think Holden Caulfield should be a book,” Salinger’s mentor — based on real-life writer Whit Burnett and played by Kevin Spacey — tells him. Then there were the naysayers in his life, one man asking Salinger why he thinks he has anything worthwhile to say. Salinger had allies, though. There was his supportive and patient agent Dorothy Olding, played by Sarah Paulson.
Fresh off the film’s acclaimed Sundance premiere, Nicholas Holt told Variety that playing Salinger was “the most scared,” he’s ever been. “It means you work harder,” he went on to say. “It means you’re scared and you push yourself.”
Rebel in the Rye is written and directed by Danny Strong. You might know Strong best for playing Doyle in Gilmore Girls, but he’s actually written the screenplays for multiple Hollywood blockbusters (including Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2, The Butler, and the TV show Empire). The film will be released September 15.
Credits
Text André-Naquian Wheeler
Screenshot via Youtube