Netflix have nabbed the rights to adapt Chris Hicks‘ 22-page short story I Am Not Alone into a feature film, and have secured Jessica Chastain to star. Misha Green (Lovecraft Country) will write the script and direct.
The streamer reportedly beat out multiple rival studios for the rights to the project, with it eventually coming down to them and Warner Bros. But Green wanted the project to be with a streamer, so Netflix won out in what Deadline reports to be a high six-figure deal.
The short story begins with the prologue: “I began seeing the creatures about a week before Zoe’s visit,” and revolves around a mother of a young daughter whose life unravels when she suffers unbearable migraines that cause her to hallucinate and begins to see creatures. It’s the template for a grounded sci-fi story.
Genre Films’ Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon, Bread & Circuses Entertainment’s Craig Flores, Scott Glassgold, and Peter Katz are all producing along with Chastain and her Freckle Pictures partner Kelly Carmichael, as well as Green herself.
Kinberg, who has collaborated with Chastain on three previous films, said of the project: “I’m a massive fan of Misha’s work, and been friends with Craig for years, so when I got sent this story and heard they were involved, I absolutely flipped out. Misha’s vision for it is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And getting to work with Jessica again makes it even dreamier.”
Deadline mentions that this is likely the highest sum paid for short-story IP, so clearly all these competing studios saw plenty of promise in Hicks’ short. With Green and Chastain on board, there will be excitement that I Am Not Alone can turn into a genuine hit.
In addition to being best known as the Lovecraft Country showrunner, Green also created historical drama series Underground and is currently developing another film titled Sunflower. Chastain was last seen in real-life thriller The Good Nurse and drama miniseries George & Tammy, and recently wrapped filming on psychological thriller Mothers’ Instinct.
#Peace.Love.IAmNotAlone
