The Giver is a 1994 Newbery Medal winner by Lois Lowry and currently in the midst of a silver screen adaptation to be produced and starred in by Jeff Bridges. The movie is to be directed by Phil Noyce (Salt) and will be co-produced by The Weinstein Company and Walden Media.

Most recent to join the cast is Meryl Streep who is reported by Deadline to be playing the chief elder in charge of keeping order in the utopian society, while Jeff Bridges plays the lead and Brenton Thwaites plays Jonas. Here’s the synopsis from the book.

In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community’s Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.

We’ll keep you posted on the latest for The Giver starring Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges.