Shelly Hong To Direct GET OVER IT

I Crone Productions announced today that writer/director Shelly Hong, who just wrapped the 25th edition of the Whistler Film festival as a part of the Whistler Screenwriter’s Lab, is developing her debut feature film Get Over It based on a novel by Lynda Simmons.

Hong has co-written the screenplay with Simmons and is set to direct the feature version. The team just wrapped a proof of concept shoot in Toronto. The project is based on Simmons’ novel Getting Rid of Rosie (Penguin). Ontario-based production company I Crone Productions has optioned the project. The proof of concept features a cast including Tina Jung (Kim’s Convenience, Shoresy), Donald MacLean Jr. (Youngblood, Wayward) and Mimi Kuzyk (All My Puny Sorrows, Private Eyes).

“Lynda and I had just finished shooting Ed & Alfie and we wanted to continue the momentum, so we decided to adapt one of her books. She suggested Getting Rid of Rosie which was her successful breakout novel,” says Hong. “I was expecting a fluffy romantic comedy, but it turned out to be a story about female relationships that was honest and had gravity. I suggested making the main character Korean so I could contribute to the story and when she agreed, I was on board.”

A female-led supernatural comedy, Get Over It features Karma who breaks all the rules to give Samantha Choi until midnight to choose the life she truly wants, but only if she gets rid of the ghost of Rosie Fisk, the best friend who ruined that life and has no intention of walking into any damn light.

Who Is Shelly J. Hong?

Shelly J. Hong is an award-winning filmmaker. Originally from Korea, she moved to Canada at the age of five. In her childhood she spent a disproportionately large amount of time in front of the television. She began her career as an actor before moving behind the camera and worked in production for 15 years before moving into writing and directing. She has directed four short films that have played at festivals around the world and garnered several awards. Her first original feature script, BEAST, was selected for the 2025 Whistler Film Festival’s Screenwriters Lab. She is an alumna of the Women in the Director’s Chair Career Advancement Module in 2022 and the Story and Leadership Program in 2023.

Lynda Simmons has had books published by Harlequin and Penguin in New York. Simmons has worked as an instructor at Sheridan and Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). After thirty years writing novels Lynda Simmons made a career leap into filmmaking in 2023. Her screenplay for a short film took home ten awards from festivals worldwide. In 2024 she partnered with director Shelly Hong to turn that screenplay into a short film titled Ed & Alfie. 

The film is co-written by Shelly J. Hong and Lynda Simmons. Hong direct and the director of photography is Lainie Knox (Children Ruin Everything, Tallboyz).