Andy Mulligan Novel “Trash” Getting Stephen Daldry Adaptation

Director Stephen Daldry has only headed up three films, but he’s become a major force in the film industry with those three titles.

After Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close hits theaters (presumably later this year), Daldry looks to direct a film based on Andy Mulligan’s novel Trash, which centers on “three boys who eke out a living picking through rubbish mounds, until a surprise discovery sets them on a breathtaking adventure pitting their wits against corruption and authority.”

From the press release:

“28th March 2011: Random House Children’s Books and Jane Turnbull are thrilled to announce that Working Title Films and PeaPie Films have acquired the film rights to Trash, the acclaimed novel by British author, Andy Mulligan in a deal brokered by Jenne Casarotto of Casarotto Ramsay Associates.

 

Richard Curtis, Britain’s most successful screenwriter will adapt the novel. Alongside his many award-winning original screenplays for television (Blackadder, Vicar Of Dibley) and film (Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill), Curtis has also adapted previous literary work, including The Ladies Detective Agency and recently War Horse for director Stephen Spielberg.

Stephen Daldry, three- time Academy Award nominated (Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader) and Tony Award winning director, is attached to direct the film.

Trash is a contemporary thriller set in the third world, and follows three boys who eke out a living picking through rubbish mounds, until a surprise discovery sets them on a breathtaking adventure pitting their wits against corruption and authority. The book is published in the UK and US by David Fickling Books, an imprint of Random House. Fickling previously saw international success with the crossover titles Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Trash has already been translated into 16 other languages.

Kris Thykier says, ‘From the opening pages of Trash, I knew that I had discovered one of the most thrilling, dynamic and inspiring books I’d ever come across. I am truly excited at the prospect of bringing Andy Mulligan’s joyful story to the screen and am honoured to be working with Working Title, whom I consider to be the best production company in the world and Richard, one of my favourite screenwriters and Stephen, who is justly considered one of the greatest directors of his generation.’

Andy Mulligan says: ‘As far as I'm concerned this is the dream-team, and what has really impressed me is their desire to tell the story as it is, without coating it in sugar. They 'get' the book, and you can't ask for more than that.’”

This definitely sounds like an interesting project, and with Daldry in the director’s chair, we can expect a pretty hefty Oscar campaign.

How do you feel about this adaptation?