Toni Collette's Directing Debut Will Adapt a Graeme Simsion Novel

Toni Collette will make her feature directing debut with "The Best Of," her screen version of Graeme Simsion's novel, which Variety describes as a bestseller. The film is one of 75 projects sharing more than AUD16.9 million, about $11.7 million, in production and development money from Screen Australia.

Collette, an Emmy and Golden Globe winner, produces alongside Christopher Simon. It is a substantial slate rather than a single bet: the same funding pool is spread across dozens of productions at once.