American author Tess Gunty’s National Book Award winning debut novel The Rabbit Hutch has been optioned in a highly competitive situation by Fremantle and Passenger’s Richard Brown – the award-winning producer behind This England, True Detective, Catch-22 and Outlaw King.
Brown will produce with Gunty onboard as an Executive Producer.
Set over one sweltering week in July in a fictional rustbelt Indiana town and culminating in a bizarre act of violence that changes everything, The Rabbit Hutch is a savagely beautiful and bitingly funny snapshot of contemporary America.
Passenger’s Richard Brown said: “Tess Gunty has written a wildly inventive and mesmerizing novel populated with irresistible characters, including a heroine for the ages – we’re delighted that she has trusted us to adapt it for the screen.”
Author of The Rabbit Hutch Tess Gunty said: “I’m honoured to work with Richard, Passenger, and Fremantle. Richard’s ambitious vision, discerning taste, and commitment to thoughtful adaptations makes him a thrilling fit for this project.”
Gunty is represented by Duvall Osteen at Aragi, Inc. and CAA.
Along with The National Book Award for fiction, The Rabbit Hutch has won the Barnes & Nobel Discover Prize, the Waterstone’s Debut Fiction Prize, was an Indie Next pick, and was a Must Read book of 2022 by Time Magazine.
Since Fremantle’s partnership began with Brown, Passenger has developed and produced a series of premium scripted and factual projects, including Sky’s recent drama This England, written and directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring BAFTA® and Academy Award®-winner Kenneth Branagh.
Fremantle and Passenger have also teamed up to produce a premium documentary series on the creation and launch of the NBA’s Basketball Africa League (BAL), a Pan-African basketball league which aims to catalyze a transformative professional sports ecosystem across the African Continent. The series is directed by Brown along with up-and-coming South African director Tebogo Malope.
