BAFTA winner Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd) is set to direct and star in “The Semplica Girl Diaries”, written by Ayoade and Booker Prize-winning author George Saunders.
Lydia Fox (The Souvenir 1 & 2) will join Ayoade in the lead, sources say, adding that there are early talks with A-list US and UK talent including Ben Stiller, Jesse Eisenberg and Sally Hawkins.
Adapted from the story of the same name, which was originally published in The New Yorker, the film is set in a near-future world in which real-life “Semplica Girls” are imported from impoverished countries across the globe to serve as decorative items for the wealthy.
Cornerstone Films is handling world sales for the movie, which is a House Productions / Alcove Entertainment production and is produced by Tessa Ross and Juliette Howell (The Wonder), and Robin C. Fox and Amina Dasmal (The Double). The film was developed by Tessa Ross for House Productions and Robin C. Fox for Alcove Entertainment with Access Entertainment.
Film4 will executive-produce and co-finance. Len Blavatnik and Danny Cohen will be executive-producing for Access Entertainment.
