‘The Night Manager’ Producer The Ink Factory, Endeavor Content Board C. Pam Zhang Novel Adaptation

Naman Ramachandran
·2 min read

London and Los Angeles-based independent studio The Ink Factory (“The Night Manager”, “Fighting with My Family,” “The Little Drummer Girl”) and Endeavor Content are developing C. Pam Zhang’s acclaimed debut novel “How Much of These Hills is Gold” for television.

A sweeping adventure tale told through a multi-cultural revisionist lens, the book follows Chinese-American siblings, Lucy and Sam, cross the treacherous California hills in the twilight of the Gold Rush with a gun in their hands and a corpse on their backs.

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Anita Gou (“The Farewell,” “Honey Boy”) is attached to executive produce under her Kindred Spirit banner. The book was selected as a Barack Obama book of the year for 2020. The series adaptation will be written by playwright and screenwriter Hansol Jung (“Tales of the City,” “Pachinko”).

Joseph Tsai and Arthur Wang of Hong Kong and London-based media investment firm 127 Wall Productions will executive produce alongside Stephen Cornwell, Simon Cornwell, and Katherine Butler, creative director at The Ink Factory.

Zhang said: “It feels quietly revolutionary to think that I might see two Chinese American kids swagger and stride across the screen, heroes of an American cinematic tradition I have always adored — it’s exactly where they belong, where Chinese Americans have always belonged. What a joy to have this team that already includes female and queer perspectives from the Asian diaspora, and that I hope will grow to include even more voices.”

Gou said: “C. Pam Zhang’s fearless debut novel is an essential reimagining of the Western genre that powerfully confronts the erasure of Chinese Americans from the origin myth of America. Hansol is a singular voice whose works we’ve long admired, and we’re so excited to have her be at the helm of this adaptation. At Kindred Spirit we are always committed to supporting storytellers who seek to challenge the status quo with new perspectives, and it’s a dream come true for us to be a part of this project.”

“We fell in love at first read with Pam’s stunning novel which combines an epic revisionist sweep with moving and intimate portraits of its two young protagonists,” said Butler. “‘How Much of These Hills is Gold’ is a compellingly told story of the American West from a culturally, socially and gender-identity diverse perspective, and we feel hugely privileged to be adapting it with our amazingly talented screenwriter Hansol Jung and the brilliant Anita Gou whose work we love.”

“We are actively diversifying our slate at Ink by combining exciting untapped voices and perspectives with established expertise, leveraging our position as creators to make meaningfully inclusive entertainment – and we feel honoured to be able to work with such amazing people as Pam, Hansol and Anita to tell stories as incredible and important as this one,” Butler added.

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