George Clooney, having just worked with one streaming service on his Catch-22 miniseries, will now work with another. He is making the jump from Hulu to Netflix to direct and star in an adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton‘s 2017 sci-fi novel, Good Morning, Midnight. Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) has penned the script, while Anonymous Content and Syndicate Entertainment will produce.
Clooney will play Augustine, a scientist isolated in the deep arctic who stubbornly refused to evacuate with his co-workers and abandon his work. Shortly after, he discovers a small child and realises they are totally alone.
At the same time, Mission Specialist Sullivan is aboard the Aether on its return flight from Jupiter. She and her crew are the first humans to delve this deep into space. Aware of the sacrifices required of her, Sully ruminates over a failed marriage and a daughter left behind. But when Mission Control falls silent, she and her crew wonder if they’ll ever get home.
The two stories gradually intertwine in a “profound and unexpected conclusion”. Variety first reported the news, and Clooney told them: “Grant [Heslov, producer] and I couldn’t be more excited to be involved with this incredible project. Mark is a writer we’ve long admired and his script is haunting. We’re thrilled to be working with our friends at Netflix as well”.
This is a great example of the kind of film a traditional studio probably wouldn’t commission anymore, even with a star like Clooney on board. But Netflix has proven to give different kinds of projects a chance, and often give their filmmakers full creative control.
It can lead to some rough movies, but it also means we get interesting projects like Good Morning, Midnight. Hopefully Clooney can do the source material justice.
#Peace.Love.GoodMorningMidnight
