First Look: '10 Things I Hate About You' Sorta-Sequel '10 Things I Hate About Life'

10 Things I Hate About You was only a modest hit when it first opened in 1999, but it's demonstrated some surprising staying power over the years. While most teen romcoms of the era have been lost to time, 10 Things I Hate About You was revived as an ABC Family sitcom just a few years ago. And that clip of Heath Ledger serenading Julia Stiles still makes the Internet rounds on the regular, at least among my circle of nostalgic 30somethings.

Now the Shakespeare-inspired comedy is getting another new lease on life, this time in the form of some kind of spinoff/sequel thing. I'm purposely keeping it vague because it's not quite clear how 10 Things I Hate About Life is related to the original, aside from involvement of original producer Andrew Lazar and original director Gil Junger. This one stars Evan Rachel Wood and Thomas McDonell (Prom) as a young couple who meet cute when they both attempt suicide. Seriously. Check out the first official still after the jump.

And here are some previously revealed pics from their website.

10 Things I Hate About Life first started shooting about a year ago, but production was shut down. It's now on track to resume next month in Southern California for release sometime in 2014.

Here's the movie synopsis from the Vision Films website:

Willow (Evan Rachel Wood) decides to end it all. In a moment of conviction, she pushes the pedal to the metal, yanks the steering wheel, and launches herself off a cliff. Moments later, as the sun is about to set, Ben (Thomas McDonell), pulls onto the exact same lookout, sits on the observation bench. Confused by the fresh skid-marks leading off the cliff but overcome by the serenely and the stunning Los Angeles view, he raises a pistol to his head, and prepares to say his final goodbye. While gathering his courage, Willow, face caked in the white powder from the expulsion of the air-bags, pulls herself back up onto the lookout, takes in the desperate man before her and say's, "Excuse me, can I borrow that when you're done?

Willow and Ben instantaneously start to bond over their miserable lives and soon forget their reason for calling it quits. As their new romance starts to blossom, complications ensue when Ben's ex-girlfriend re-enters his life just as his budding rock band is on the verge of signing a record deal.

Willow and Ben start to exam what truly brought the together. Was this a chance meeting in a moment of desperation and despair? Or perhaps fate intervening in two lost souls. Whatever the reason for this second chance, they booth soon discover a reason to live... LOVE!

Junger has described 10 Things I Hate About Life as "advancing the situations" of the original film, which frankly sounds like BS. Nothing about the above description reminds me of 10 Things I Hate About You at all. Maybe the thematic connections will be more obvious when the movie actually comes out. But if the title turns out to be nothing more than a gimmick to get attention, well, at least it's a successful one. We're talking about it right now, aren't we?