In a competitive situation, Neon has won the rights to develop Dorothy Baker’s 1962 novel “Cassandra at the Wedding,” in partnership with Seaview and John Early.
The novel follows Cassandra Edwards, a graduate student at Berkeley, who is gay, brilliant, nerve-wracked, and miserable. She drives to her family ranch in the foothills of the Sierras to attend the wedding of her identical twin, Judith, to a young doctor from Connecticut. Cassandra has plans to sabotage the wedding.
Sarah DeLappe, who wrote “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” for A24 which recently premiered at SXSW, and also wrote the Pulitzer-nominated play, “The Wolves,” will adapt for the screen and executive produce. Neon will produce the film, with Brad Becker-Parton and Greg Nobile on behalf of Seaview, along with Early and Leslie Conliffe from Intellectual Property Group.
The deal was negotiated by Mason Speta at Neon and Conliffe, on behalf of McIntosh & Otis who are the primary agents for the estate of Dorothy Baker. DeLappe is represented by Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment, ICM Partners and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham.
Neon’s current production and development slate includes a narrative remake of acclaimed documentary “The Painter and the Thief”; Brandon Cronenberg’s “Infinity Pool” starring Alexander Skarsgård; Tilman Singer’s “Cuckoo” starring Hunter Schafer, John Malkovich, Gemma Chan and Sofia Boutella; Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The End,” a golden-age musical starring ATilda Swinton; and documentary “Seeking Mavis Beacon” from director Jazmin Jones.
Recent Oscar-nominated titles with Neon involvement include Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee,” Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World” and Pablo Larraín’s “Spencer.”