About a Boy was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and a WGA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

About a Boy is a screenplay by Peter Hedges and Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz. Based on Nick Hornby's bestselling novel of the same name, About a Boy is a comedy drama starring Hugh Grant as Will. Directed by Paul Weitz & Chris Weitz (American Pie) and produced by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Brad Epstein, Tim Bevan, and Eric Fellner, About a Boy also stars Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz), and Nicholas Hoult.

Terminally single and ecstatically child-free, Will, a trendy, 40-something Londoner and trust fund baby who's never worked a day in his life, is enjoying the expansive free time and wide open spaces of a monied 'middle youth', shopping for designer clothes, and worrying about his Audi Coupe and up-to-the-second hairstyle. Nights, whenever possible, are devoted to beautiful women. Thanks to a ubiquitous Christmas song written by his dad and recorded by everyone from Elvis to the Muppets, Will doesn't have to work like the rest of the world. The annual royalties rolling in have enabled him to make a profession – an art, really – out of avoiding responsibility.

A no-strings fling with a single mom turns on the proverbial light bulb over his head: maybe a good place to meet women would be single-parent support groups. And so, posing as a single dad with a fictitious two-year-old, he joins S.P.A.T. – Single Parents, Alone Together. Well on his way to charming a single mom named Suzie, he inadvertently bonds with a 12-year-old misfit named Marcus, the latchkey son of Suzie's best friend. Gradually, Will and Marcus become friends, and as Will teaches Marcus how to be a cool kid, Marcus helps Will to finally grow up.

"The biggest change from book to script that readers [of the novel by Nick Hornby] will notice is the ending," write the Weitzs in the introduction to their scriptbook about the movie based on the popular British novel.

About a Boy includes an exclusive introduction by Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz, a facsimile of the complete shooting script, stills from the film, production notes, and full cast and crew credits.

What people say:

"The 2002 rom-com About A Boy has everything you could possibly want from a Christmas film. There's a brilliant script, some trauma, a lot of terrible knitwear and a life-affirming moral about loving other people. Oh, and Hugh Grant. Lots of Hugh Grant." — Metro

"Based on Nick Hornby's best seller, Boy is an infinitely better adaptation than that of Hornby's High Fidelity...." — Library Journal

"This movie isn't just great to watch, it's great for the ears to savor." — The Washington Post

"Adapted from Nick Hornby's acerbic and keenly observed novel about an unlikely friendship between a fatherless boy and a self-absorbed cad, About a Boy is that rare film that's as clever and moving as the book on which it was based...About a Boy captures the mood and feel of the book, while adhering closely to the story." — USA Today

"Directing brothers Chris and Paul Weitz, who gave us American Pie, are adept at translating the literate comedy of Hornby's novel to the screen. The script – written by the Weitzes and Peter Hedges (What's Eating Gilbert Grape) – retains Hornby's rhythms and humor, primarily through dueling voiceovers by Will and Marcus." — Salt Lake City Tribune

"The script (by Peter Hedges and directors Chris and Paul Weitz) does a phenomenal job of weaving narration in and out of dialogue. Students of screenwriting should study this hard." — Slate

About the Screenwriter:

Peter Hedges is an American novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. He is best known for his plays Baby Anger and Good as New and his quirky novel What's Eating Gilbert Grape, which he later adapted into a feature film. He is the writer-director of Pieces of April starring Katie Holmes and Dan in Real Life starring Steve Carrell. His screenplay for About a Boy was nominated for an Academy Award.

Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz previously directed Down to Earth. Paul directed American Pie.