SCOTTISH filmmaker Synchronicity is to develop a homegrown Man Booker nominee for the screen, it has been announced.
Published last year, Graeme Macrae Burnet’s novel His Bloody Project is in the running for the one of the biggest prizes in fiction.
The winner of this year’s £50,000 Man Booker Prize will be announced at a ceremony next month and, in an interview published in July, The National revealed how the film and TV rights had already been snapped up.
Yesterday Synchronicity Films announced they were the firm behind the deal. Discussions are now underway with an unnamed “major UK broadcaster” as the drama company considers screenwriters to adapt the historical novel for a new medium.
Published by independent Glasgow company Contraband, the book tells the story of 17-year-old Roddy Macrae, who has committed a brutal triple murder in the rural Scotland of 1869. Burnet uses the character’s memoir, court papers, medical reports, newspaper articles and police statements to explore why he acted that way.
Claire Mundell, creative director at Synchronicity Films, said: “We are honoured to be adapting Graeme’s fantastic literary thriller. Roddy’s story gripped us from page one and kept us guessing all the way to the end.
“The question of whether he is victim or persecutor is one we can’t wait to explore on screen. We are delighted to have discovered this wonderful novel on our own doorstep. It’s also great to work with an indie publisher who also believes in backing undiscovered talent as much as we do.”
Burnet, from Kilmarnock, said: “I’m thrilled to have optioned rights for His Bloody Project to Synchronicity Films, an award-winning independent production company based in Glasgow.
“Great credit is due to Claire Mundell for picking up the book long before its shortlisting for the Man Booker Prize, something which demonstrates both her passion for the book itself and her willingness to back her own instincts. I’m very excited by the prospect of working with Claire and her team to develop the novel for the screen.” Sara Hunt of Saraband said: “Graeme’s wonderful, evocative novel is a story that we are really looking forward to adapting for the big screen. It’s great to be working with an outstanding independent producer who has shown such commitment to the book.”
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