‘Pig’ Director Michael Sarnoski To Write And Direct Adaptation Of Graphic Novel ‘Sabrina’ For New Regency

Justin Kroll
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Pig helmer Michael Sarnoski is set to write and direct the feature film adaptation of Sabrina, which is based on the Nick Drnaso’s graphic novel, from New Regency and RT Features.

New Regency is producing alongside RT Features’ Rodrigo Teixeira. New Regency will finance the project. Sources close to Sarnoski say this will not be his next film as he is expected to make the A Quiet Place spinoff his next directing gig.

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The graphic novel follows a grieving man whose girlfriend goes missing and who goes to live with his old friend – an Air Force surveillance expert agent who is dealing with a failed marriage. After a grisly videotape is sent anonymously to news outlets, Sabrina’s disappearance goes viral. As the 24-hour news cycle and social media take hold of the story, the two men are targeted by vitriolic conspiracy theorists that threaten their sense of the truth and their faith in each other.

Sarnoski’s star has been on the rise since he directed last year’s Pig, which earned star Nicolas Cage some of his best reviews in recent years and won praise for Sarnoksi. The film is 97% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and Sarnoski received the National Board of Review Award for Best Directorial Debut as well as a nomination for Best Feature at the Gotham Awards. He also was nominated for the Independent Spirit Awards’ Someone to Watch Award in addition to Best First Screenplay, along with noms and wins from dozens of critics associations.

Pig was so well received that it would be a big reason John Krasinski and Paramount hand-picked Sarnoksi for the new A Quiet Place pic, which he plans to shoot as his next project. He is represented by WME, MGMT Entertainment and attorney Derek Kroeger.

Drnaso’s graphic novel Sabrina was published in May 2018 by Drawn & Quarterly. Two months later, Sabrina became the first graphic novel to be long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. Sabrina made year-end best-of list for the New York Times, The Guardian, NPR and The Atlantic. Drnaso’s debut novel, Beverly, received the LA Times Book prize for Best Graphic Novel. He is represented by UTA.

RT Features and New Regency previously partnered on James Gray’s Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt, Ruth Negga, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland, and Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe for A24.

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