New Line Acquires Sarah Knight Bestseller ‘The Life-Changing Magic Of Not Giving A F*ck’

Anthony D'Alessandro
·3 min read

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EXCLUSIVE: We have learned that New Line has picked up the feature rights to Sarah Knight’s international bestselling satirical and practical guide The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck, which Rachel Hirons will adapt for the big screen. Alexa Faigen will produce through her company, Five Quarters Entertainment.

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck introduced Knight’s Not Sorry Method for mental decluttering, ”a system for identifying what annoys you and clearing it out of your life just as you would with physical junk that no longer serves its purpose.” The book is known for its hysterical prose and commonsense techniques—such as creating a “f*ck budget” to allocate one’s time, energy, and money toward what truly makes them happy—encouraging readers of ridding unwanted obligations and the guilt associated with saying no.

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Knight has published five bestselling books and three journals in her No F*cks Given Guides series—including Get Your Sh*t Together and Calm the F*ck Down. The books have been translated into more than thirty languages and her TEDx Talk, “The Magic of Not Giving a F*ck,” has clocked millions of global views. Knight graduated cum laude from Harvard University and spent fifteen years as a book editor in New York City before relocating to the Dominican Republic, where she currently lives with her husband.

Hirons wrote and directed the 2019 feature A Guide to Second Date Sex based on her stage play and adapted the bestselling novel A Court of Thorns and Roses for Tempo Productions and Constantin Film. Other writing credits include Kiss Me First for Netflix/Channel 4, Vodka Diaries for BBC3 and the feature Powder Room based on her stage play When Women Wee.

Faigen most recently produced the Netflix movie Let It Snow based on John Green’s bestselling novel and executive produced the streamer’s Bird Box at Netflix which was viewed by more than 80M households around the world.

“Sarah Knight’s The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck gives a liberating literary middle finger to the pressure of unrealistic expectations in every aspect of our lives. New Line and I are thrilled to have screenwriter Rachel Hirons and her sharp comic voice bring Knight’s credo to life for film,” said Faigen.

When it comes to comedic self-help guides on life, New Line has adapted them into movies before, i.e. Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo 2004 book He’s Just Not That Into You which became an all-star 2009 romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Connelly grossing $179M WW.

Knight is repped by ICM Partners who also sold the book rights. Faigen is represented by attorney Michael Schenkman. Hirons is repped by Katie Haines at The Agency (London) Ltd and by CAA.

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