Washington [US], June 20 : European film-TV group Studiocanal is teaming with Imperative Entertainment to make the psychological thriller 'Cat Person', based on the short story by Kristen Roupenian which was published by The New Yorker in 2017. It went on to become its most downloaded fiction that year.
According to Variety, owned by Vivendi's Canal PLus Group, and traditionally one of the strongest sales operations at Cannes, Studiocanal will fully finance the feature, billed as describing the "hellscape" of modern romance. It will begin world sales at this week's Virtual Cannes Market, with 30West co-representing US rights.
'Cat Person' will be directed by DGA Award-winning Susanna Fogel. Written by Michelle Ashford, the psychological thriller will star Emmy Award-nominated Nicholas Braun, whose credits include 'Succession' and 'Zola', along with Emilia Jones, who has starred in 'Locke and Key' and 'Coda'.
World premiering at Sundance Film Festival this year, 'Coda' has won four prizes including the Audience Award and US Grand Jury Prize. It also secured a festival-record USD 25 million sales deal with Apple.
Roupenian's short story turns on the casual, but increasingly discomfiting relationship between Margot, a 20-year-old college student, and Robert, a 34 man who goes to the movie theatre where Margot works.
"Using Kristen's excruciatingly well-observed short story about the horrors of dating as the jumping-off point for an actual genre film, 'Cat Person' will explore the hellscape of modern romance and the idea that we have all been the villain in someone else's story, and the victim in others." Fogel said.
As per Variety, 'Cat Person' will be produced by Imperative Entertainment's Jeremy Steckler, in association with 30West, which arranged the financing for the feature.