I used to listen to audio books non-stop. Getting ready in the morning, going for a run, driving to work? audiobook time. However, during the COVID lockdown, I fell out of that habit. I lived with my family, had a very different schedule and just lost interest in pushing the game. Even after moving back into my apartment and tapping into my former routine, I still found it very difficult to get back into listening. However, that changed as soon as someone recommended it ski weekend.
Written by Liani Kötcher write as Rektok Ross, ski weekend is a young adult thriller about what happens when a group of teenagers head to the mountains for a seniors ski weekend. On the way, her car crashes into a snowdrift, leaving her stranded with no cell service and dwindling resources. Will you brave the cold and snow to find help? Are you waiting, hoping someone finds you? While the incident may initially seem like a brief delay in a ski trip, the group soon realizes that every decision they make is a matter of life and death.
While in San Diego for Comic-Con 2022, Kotcher and producer Miles Koules stopped by the Collider Interview Studio to provide an update on the customization process. News of their collaboration first broke in April 2022, when Deadline revealed Miles Koules would be working with his father long-term Seen Manufacturer Oren Koulesto bring Kotcher’s book to the big screen. Just like his father, Miles Koules is making the transition from professional ice hockey player to film producer, and Kotcher suspects there’s something about this evolution that makes them both a formidable support system and ideal collaborators:
“I think there’s something really unique about Miles and Oren, both coming from the world of professional athletes to become producers. I’ve noticed it working together, they really care – it’s weird to call me a talent but they really care that that person has a say and a stake and I think that’s really rare. I have a lot of friends and colleagues who are also writers, young adult writers, adult thriller writers, and it’s like they sell the project and then that’s the thing. You’ll never hear about it again. I ask her what’s going on; ‘I have no idea. After I sold it I never heard from them again. Maybe it won’t be done. However.’ It’s like they didn’t have any skin in the game after that and I think that was such an amazing experience. I feel in such good hands. And I don’t know if that’s because of being an athlete or because of this experience, but they just really care about the creator and my contribution.”
Not only did Kotcher learn from friends who went through the book-to-film adaptation process, but she also learned quite a bit while working as a journalist specializing in young adult entertainment. Here’s what she said when asked how working on this side of the business influenced her own work:
“I would say more of an etiquette thing, and I think that’s partly because being a lawyer is, I’m a firm believer, kind to people. Be nice. I deal with a lot of people. Some were very nice, others weren’t so nice, and I just feel like there’s so much to say about just being respectful and kind. Everyone does their job and no one is better than anyone, no one is greater than anyone and I think I always will, and we’ve talked about that too, I hope, always with a very kind, humble attitude to everything I do do to come do. And I think that’s really important. I think recognizing other people does their job, gives the best they can do, and I think for me it’s just professionalism and etiquette.”
Given that these qualities are paramount and given how compelling the book is, the ski weekend Cast and crew could make a powerful, exciting team for Kotcher and Koules to join as they move the project forward. The next step in this process? find director. Here’s what Koules had to say about the quest:
“That’s our next step and we’ve started talking about it. I think making a self-contained film is one of the most difficult things, but also the most satisfying when done right. And I think if we look back, we’d like to have someone who made a cohesive film and did it well. So for me, obviously my perspective is to start there and then branch out from there.
Kotcher highlighted a few additional qualities she would like to see in a director, and Event gave a few names that could be great for the role:
“I’d like to have someone on board who really appreciates the horror thrillers of the late ’80s and ’90s. Someone like Leigh Janiak who just did the Fear Street trilogy. I find her incredible. I love her. I know they only do TV, but The Duffer Brothers. Someone like him that you can tell has the heart and the passion because I feel like it’s not horror, but a lot of that love that went into those late ’90s movies is kinda, what I imagine. There’s a lot of Easter eggs, there’s the fun of having the fun together as they ramp up. I want someone who can shoot that and bring that feeling to the screen.”
When it comes to filling the ensemble, Kotcher sees great potential in every single role, whether it’s her lead character Sam or the others involved. She explained:
“It took me about 10 years to write the book, so each character is very well fleshed out. They all have really interesting background stories, their own views, their own experiences. I really think, and we’ve talked about it, that any character would be a really great role for someone.”
Koules went into more detail while discussing their goals for the casting process:
“It’s so exciting because there are so many young adults, and I mean young adults, but also actors in their 20s, more so than ever in Hollywood. We went through the list of people we want and it’s great because you have a melting pot of six people in one car and I think that’s really — obviously every survival story is all about what happens and who lives and who dies, but at the heart of what makes this story so great is its interdynamics in the car. So I think there’s definitely a big name or two out there, you never know. Maybe a rising star could emerge from this as well.”
A question that often comes up when adapting a young adult novel about danger and death: What about the rating? Given the likely target audience, PG-13 seems like the target, but given that ski weekend contains some intense scenes that could risk tumbling into R-rated territory. While Koules is aware of this possibility, he stressed that the plan is doable ski weekend a PG-13 film; “PG-13 is obviously the goal, but with fatalities there always comes this R-push, but I think we’ll do our best to make it PG-13.”
I’m curious to hear more about it ski weekend by Kotcher and Koules? Be sure to watch our full conversation in the video interview at the top of this article, which also includes a sneak peek at Kotcher’s next book!