Meghan Markle, Prince Harry could ‘break records’ — with someone else’s love story
Stranger things have happened.
Meghan Markle, 42, and Prince Harry, 38, have purchased the screen rights to the popular new release “Meet Me at the Lake” to turn it into a film?for Netflix, The Post can confirm — and according to one PR expert, the project could “break records.”
“Harry and Meghan are no strangers to attracting millions of eyes upon what they do and this will be no different,” publicity coach Mayah Riaz recently told The Mirror. “I believe the film could hit record number in the first week at the box office.”
Riaz added that the numbers could even compare to Greta Gerwig’s recently released “Barbie” movie, which hit $1 billion in global ticket sales over the weekend.
“Everyone will be talking about it for weeks leading up to the release as well as afterwards,” Riaz said. “It might not beat the record of Barbie at the box office, but I believe it could come very close second to it.”
Carley Fortune’s novel, which spent six weeks on?The New York Times?bestsellers list following its May release, chronicles the love story of a 30-something woman whose mother dies in a car crash.
The Sun, which was first to report the sale of the book rights, estimated the deal may have cost nearly $4 million.
“I’m so thrilled about working with Netflix and Archewell to bring Meet Me at the Lake to the screen,” Fortune said in a statement to The Post via her publisher, Penguin Random House. “Will and Fern’s love story is dear to my heart, and I can’t imagine a more perfect partnership.”
The Canada-set book seemingly resembles Harry’s own life — his mother, Princess Diana, died in a?Paris car crash in 1997. Harry also met Markle while they were in their 30s,?as Markle filmed the hit show “Suits” in Canada.
Per Deadline, the novel explores themes of “childhood trauma, including losing a parent in a car crash, mental health challenges and post-natal depression.”
It was a plot that especially stood out to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and will be part of their rumored $100 million deal with Netflix.
“The themes of the?book?gripped the couple, and it was chosen for their first adaptation with Netflix,” an unidentified source told The Sun.
This new project follows a number of failed production attempts.
In June, the couple parted ways with Spotify after?signing a $20 million deal in 2020.
Markle’s podcast, “Archetypes,” was not renewed for a second season after featuring guests such as “The Mindy Project” star Mindy Kaling and famed singer Mariah Carey.
It was reported that Markle tried to invite hitmaker Taylor Swift on for an episode, but she declined.
“Archetypes” was the only project the couple produced for Spotify during their two-and-a-half-year partnership, aside from a one-off holiday episode.
