Is Otessa Moshfegh one of Hollywood’s next creative forces? Il Post thinks so, as the Italian outlet reports that three of the writer’s works are being adapted for upcoming films, and with major directorial talent involved. The news shouldn’t surprise Moshfegh fans. She’s written two screenplays already: 2022’s “Causeway” with her husband Luke Goebel and Elizabeth Sanders; and William Oldroyd‘s adaptation of her 2015 novel debut “Eileen,” which she also co-wrote with Goebel.
But which of Moshfegh’s other works are being adapted next? That’s where this gets interesting. Apparently, Yorgos Lanthimos will team up with Margot Robbie‘s banner LuckyChap to adapt Moshfegh’s 2018 novel “My Year Of Rest And Relaxation.” But don’t mark this down as the Greek auteur’s next film. Il Post says that Lanthimos co-adapts the screenplay with Moshfegh, but “Bugonia,” the director’s adaptation of the South Korean comedy “Save The Green Planet!,” comes first. Still, Lanthimos and Moshfegh working with LuckyChap is buzzy enough. If Emma Stone signs on to star, this project automatically becomes one of Hollywood’s most anticipated upcoming films.
Set in 2000 in NYC, Moshfegh’s 2018 novel, arguably her breakout, follow an unnamed young woman who, after a personal tragedy, decides to spend the next year in bed abusing sleeping pills. But living in such an altered state has consequences, with the woman soon succumbing to behaviors that alienate everyone around her. Sound like a Lanthimos vehicle to anyone else? Stay tuned for an official announcement for “My Year Of Rest And Relaxation.”
But there are two other Moshfegh adaptations apparently on the way, too. First up, “McGlue,” Andrew Haigh‘s adaptation of Moshfegh’s 2014 short story of the same name. The premise bears similarity to another recent Haigh project, “The North Water,” in that it’s a story of sailing and murder set in the 1850s. In “McGlue,” the title character wakes up chained in the hold of the he’s commissioned to, with the crew claiming he killed Johnson, another sailor. But McGlue has no memory of murdering his shipmate, a man he considered a close friend. “The North Water” was an excellent miniseries by Haigh, so he’d be a solid choice to adapt Moshfegh’s story, but let’s see if this report has legs first.
Next up, “The Green Knight” director David Lowery may adapt Moshfegh’s 2020 novel “Death In Her Hands.” That book follows an unreliable narrator, a woman who just moved to a new rural town, who finds a strange note in the woods behind her house and attempts to solve the mystery behind it. Lowery has his latest A24 project “Mother Mary” on the way later this year, so “Death In Her Hands” may very well be his next film. But again, let’s see if this report ends up being true.
And if it is true, then Ottessa Moshfegh may indeed be Hollywood’s next “it”-writer. Just don’t expect anyone to adapt her latest novel, 2022’s “Lapvona.” That book was critically reviled, and its subject matter, set in a corrupt medieval fiefdom, will alienate just about anyone except those who loved “Hard To Be A God.” Still, working with Lanthimos, Haigh, and Lowery is an enviable position to be in, so props to Ms. Moshfegh are due.