Searchlight Pictures has acquired from Annapurna the worldwide rights to “Nightbitch,” a neo-horror film and dark comedy that will star Amy Adams and be written and directed by Marielle Heller (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”).
“Nightbitch” is based on the debut novel by Rachel Yoder that was released last year, and the film, which is now in pre-production, aims to begin shooting in Los Angeles this September.
Searchlight in acquiring the film will stream the film as a Hulu Original in the U.S. and on Disney’s DTC platforms. Additional release plans are to be announced.
“Nightbitch” tells the story of a woman thrown into the stay-at-home routine of raising a toddler in the suburbs, who slowly embraces the feral power deeply rooted in motherhood when she becomes increasingly aware of the bizarre and undeniable signs that she may be turning into a canine.
The project with Adams attached dates back to 2020 when Bond Group and Annapurna acquired the rights to the film and developed the screenplay with Heller.
Heller and Adams will also produce the film along with Megan Ellison, Anne Carey, Stacy O’Neil, Christina Oh, Adam Paulsen and Sue Naegle. Sammy Scher and Havilah Brewster are executive producing. Heller and Brewster will produce via their Defiant By Nature production banner, Adams and O’Neil are producing via their Bond Group production banner, and Carey is producing via her Archer Gray production banner. Archer Gray also previously produced Heller’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me” and her debut “The Diary of a Teenage Girl.”
“We are long-time admirers of Amy Adams, and we are thrilled to join with Annapurna and this incredibly creative team of filmmakers to bring this unique story to the screen,” Searchlight presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield said in a statement. “We’re also delighted to reunite with Mari Heller and Anne Carey again following the collaboration on ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ Mari has brilliantly adapted Rachel Yoder’s stunning debut for what promises to be a provocative film.”
“Rachel Yoder‘s book took my breath away. I haven’t felt this way about a book since I read ‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl’ many years ago,” Heller said. “Rachel’s darkly hilarious tale of motherhood and rage made me feel seen. And adapting it with Amy Adams in mind has been the thing that has kept me going through the pandemic. I am so thrilled to be bringing this movie to life with wonderful partners in Anne Carey, Annapurna Pictures, and Searchlight. It is a dream come true.”
Adams will next be seen in “Disenchanted” for Disney+, which is the follow-up to Disney’s live-action hit family film “Enchanted.” She is represented by UTA and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
Heller most recently directed the Mister Rogers biopic film “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” for which Tom Hanks was nominated for an Oscar. She’s also the director of “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” with Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant and “The Diary of a Teenage Girl.” She is represented by UTA and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
Paul Hoffman, head of Searchlight Business Affairs, negotiated the worldwide deal with Annapurna Pictures and FilmNation Entertainment. The project will be overseen by Searchlight Production Heads DanTram Nguyen and Katie Goodson-Thomas along with SVP, Production Taylor Friedman and Manager, Creative Affairs Cameron Chidsey.
