David Farnor | On 27, Mar 2019

Jessie Buckley, Toni Colette and Jesse Plemons will star I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Netflix’s new film from Charlie Kaufman.

Named an NPR Best Book of the Year in 2016, Iain Reid’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a novel that examines the fragility of the psyche and the limitations of solitude. On a road trip to meet his parents on their secluded farm, Jake’s girlfriend is thinking of ending things. When Jake makes an unexpected detour, leaving her stranded, a twisted mix of palpable tension, psychological frailty, and sheer terror ensues.

Published in 17 territories, Netflix announced that Kaufman would be adapting it into a film last year. The film is a Likely Story production, with Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman (Private Life), Stefanie Azpiazu (The Land of Steady Habits, Enough Said) and Bob Salerno producing along with Kaufman. Reid will serve as co-producer. It reunites the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director with his frequent collaborator Bregman, who also produced Synecdoche, New York, and Human Nature.

Now, there’s an equally impressive string of names in front of the camera, with Jesse Plemons (Vice, The Post), Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose, Beast), Toni Collette (Velvet Buzzsaw, Hereditary) and David Thewlis (Anomalisa, Wonder Woman) all set to star.

Principal photography is now underway.

 

Charlie Kaufman to adapt I’m Thinking of Ending Things for Netflix

26th January 2018

Charlie Kaufman is teaming up with Netflix to adapt the bestselling novel I’m Thinking of Ending Things.

The book, penned by Iain Reid, explores the fragile nature of the psyche and the limitations of solitude. It follows Jake and his girlfriend on a road trip to meet his parents on their remote rural farm. As she considers breaking up with him, he makes an unexpected detour, leaving her stranded.

“Charlie is a singular talent with a formidable artistic vision,” Scott Stuber, who heads up Netflix’s film division, said in a statement. “He has the rare ability to tell unique stories in a universal way. I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a chilling thriller and we can’t wait to share Charlie’s adaptation with audiences everywhere.”

Reid will co-produce the film, with Kaufman on producing duties, alongside Likely Story Productions’ Stefanie Azpiazu and Anthony Bregman. The project marks a reunion for the latter, who regularly collaborated with Kaufman – in the past, they have produced Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Synecdoche, New York and Human Nature.

Kaufman, who is known for his original, imaginative writing, is no stranger to adapting other people’s work, from Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief (Adaptation) to Chuck Barris memoir Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The prospect of a chiller penned by him, though, promises something potentially new from the Oscar winner.

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