In a competitive bidding situation, Mark Gordon Pictures has won the film and TV rights to Calla Henkel‘s debut novel, Other People’s Clothes. The novel is set to be released in July of this year, but as is usually the case with these deals, the book has been optioned before publication.
Unorthodox co-writer and co-creator Alexa Karolinski has been hired to adapt the novel, which is a darkly comic thriller set in Berlin in 2009, charting the story of two young American art students whose lives spiral out of control after they rent an apartment from an eccentric crime writer.
Karolinski was recently nominated for an Emmy for Unorthodox, the 4-part Netflix series about a young woman who flees Brooklyn’s Satmar community to start a new life in Berlin. That was also based on a book – Deborah Feldman‘s memoir of the same name. She’s also previously directed documentaries such as Fashion At War: Crafting The Nazi Brand and Oma & Bella.
“I am extremely excited about partnering with Mark Gordon to create the deranged world of Other People’s Clothes for the screen, and I can’t wait to see these girls come to life in all their dark sparking intensity”, Henkel said in a statement. Beth Pattinson, who heads the London offices of Mark Gordon Pictures, added:
“We are completely delighted to be working with Calla and Alexa to bring this compelling and propulsive novel to life. Calla’s evocation of Berlin in 2009 is full of humor and insight combined with a dark, twisted narrative which had us gripped from page 1.
With Alexa, we have found the perfect writer to adapt the material – not only does she know Berlin intimately, but her writing is full of emotion and tension and is the perfect complement to Calla’s narrative. It’s a privilege to be working with these two brilliant women”.
It’s unclear right now whether the adaptation will be a film or a series. Karolinski’s experience with Unorthodox might make her go the limited series route, but we’ll see.
#Peace.Love.OtherPeopleClothes
