During a Zoom call with author Katherine Center about the Netflix adaptation of the best-selling novel “The Bodyguard,” stars Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki asked readers to suggest titles for the film.
Padalecki shared a recording of the conversation on Instagram, in which Meester told the center, “You can’t call it ‘The Bodyguard’ because there’s already an iconic movie called ‘The Bodyguard,'” referring to the 1992 thriller starring Kevin Costner.
Padalecki continued, “You have a huge readership, and you have a lot of loyal readers who are eager to read your books. They may have options and ideas.”
Center responded enthusiastically, “Yes, I completely agree with this. I think this is a genius idea. If you have the opportunity to make some suggestions to our readers, I think there is money there.”
In his caption, Padalecki encouraged Center readers to directly submit their suggestions in the comments section, concluding: “The entire team has been thinking about new ideas, and now we want to hear from you too. Please drop your best title suggestions in the comments section. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!”
St. Martin’s Press published The Bodyguard in 2022. This is a modern romance novel in which a famous actor hires a bodyguard to protect himself from a stalker, but has the bodyguard pretend to be his girlfriend so as not to worry his family. As the situation escalates, the surface fades and the feelings between the two characters become more and more real.
In the Netflix version, Meester and Padalecki play a bodyguard and an actor, respectively. Apart from the new title, the movie also brings some changes to the story. In a conversation with the Center, Meester hinted that “it will take place around Christmas time, but it will be a little different from the book.” The adapted screenplay is written by Erin Cardillo and Richard Keith.
The film is currently in production, directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, and produced by Gina Matthews, Grant Charbo, Jared Padalecki, and Genevieve Padalecki. In addition to Meester and Padalecki, the cast also includes Andie MacDowell, Walker Hayes, Noah Lalonde, and Toby Sandeman.
