Jake Gyllenhaal to Star in Series Adaptation of New Yorker Article Directed by Janicza Bravo
Jake Gyllenhaal is gearing up to star in “A Suspense Novelist’s Trail of Deceptions,” an adaptation of a New Yorker article that will be directed and written by Janicza Bravo.
Deadline reported that Bravo, the writer and director behind the upcoming “Zola” feature, is teaming with Annapurna to write and direct the series adaptation of journalist Ian Parker’s article, which was published in February 2019. The article focused on the life of former book editor Dan Mallory. Per Deadline, the series will center on an unreliable narrator who nurses brain tumors he does not have and mourns family members who are not dead while preying on people’s sympathy to get away with almost anything.
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“What may have started out as my dog ate homework turns into my mother died of cancer, my brother took his life, and I have a double doctorate,” Bravo told Deadline. “Our protagonist is white, male and pathological. There is a void in him and he fills it by duping people. He’s a scammer. The series examines white identity and how we as an audience participate in making room for this behavior. Getting to partner with Annapurna and Nine Stories is a gift, and I am most thrilled for what lies ahead.”
Bravo will co-write the pilot with Brian Savelson and will serve as an executive producer alongside Gyllenhaal and Riva Marker for Nine Stories. Annapurna’s Megan Ellison, Sue Naegle, Sammy Scher, and Susan Goldberg will also serve as executive producers. Savelson and Parker will co-executive produce the project. The release date and distributor for the project are still undetermined.
Bravo previously directed an episode of “Atlanta” in 2016 and directed two episodes of Amazon Prime Video’s “Forever” in 2018. “Zola” will mark her second feature following her debut indie comedy “Lemon,” which premiered in 2017.
As for Gyllenhaal, the Oscar nominee recently appeared in Sony’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and has starred in films such as “Nightcrawler” and Bong Joon-ho’s “Okja.” Gyllenhaal is also attached to star in “Snow Blind,” Apple Studios’ adaptation of the BOOM! Studios graphic novel.
Additional information about “A Suspense Novelist’s Trail of Deceptions” is available on Deadline.
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