Writer and director Scott Frank has long been trying to work on an adaptation of the 1932 novel Laughter in the Dark, and recently revealed that Netflix turned down a potential adaptation starring Anya Taylor-Joy.
In an interview with The New Yorker profiling the writer, Frank briefly spoke about his attempt to adapt the book. He revealed that, even after the massive success of The Queen’s Gambit — which he wrote, produced, and directed, and which Taylor-Joy starred in — Netflix turned down the chance to finance the project.
While it’s unknown why Netflix turned down the project, Frank did talk about the intricacies of getting the story right. The novel is often cited as a precursor of sorts to Lolita, and tells the story of an adult art critic who becomes infatuated with a 17-year-old girl.
Frank working with another screenwriter to adapt the novel
According to Frank, he hopes to adapt the story as “film noir,” and is co-writing the script with screenwriter Megan Abbott, who he calls an authority on women in noir.
“We talked about the femme fatale as this character who gets short shrift,” Abbott said. “But really great noir is always toying with that. Scott wanted the female point of view to be foregrounded.”
If the project can get made, Taylor-Joy is set to star in the film as Margot, the young girl. However, it’s unclear whether or not the project will be developed at all as of now. The original novel was written by Vladimir Nabokov, the same author of Lolita. A film adaptation was released in 1969.
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