EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has preemptively acquired Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan’s pitch for Valley of Ashesa contemporary loose adaptation of The Great Gatsby set in San Francisco, on which he’s teaming with his Syriana producer Jennifer Fox.
Specifics as to Gaghan’s take are under wraps, although sources indicate that the film revolves around Silicon Valley, specifically. Gaghan will direct from his own script and produce through his Super Emotional banner, alongside Fox.
Sources noted that Gaghan has deep ties to Netflix execs, who were blown away when they heard his pitch and jumped at the opportunity to snap it up before it went to market.
A classic American novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald published in 1925, The Great Gatsby is a Jazz Age tale set on Long Island. The story revolves around Nick Carraway, a bond salesman fixated on his enigmatic neighbor Jay Gatsby — a self-made millionaire whose extravagant parties and displays of wealth all seem aimed at rekindling a past romance.
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There have been several film adaptations of the book over the years, one of the most famous being Baz Luhrmann’s stylized, big-budget take starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, which Warner Bros released in 2013. Prior to that, Jack Clayton directed Robert Redford in a 1974 version for Paramount, written by Francis Ford Coppola. There was also an A&E TV movie in 2000, with other versions released in 1926 and 1949.
A two-time Oscar nominee who won in 2001 for his script for Steven Soderbergh’s TrafficGaghan is best known on the directing front for Goldstarring Matthew McConaughey; the political thriller Syriana with George Clooney; and the Robert Downey Jr.-led Dolittlewhich grossed over $251 million worldwide. As a writer, he’s also known for working on titles like Rules of Engagement, The Alamothe upcoming thriller The Billion Dollar Spyand the similarly titled Billion-Dollar Ransoman Amazon MGM adaptation of the recently published book by James Patterson and Duane Swierczynski. He is represented by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Hanson, Jacobson.
Oscar-nominated for Michael ClaytonFox has also produced praised films like The Last Duel, The Report, Nightcrawler, We Need to Talk About Kevin and The Informant!among others.
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