Add another film to Lenny Abrahamson‘s increasingly busy schedule as The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the Dublin director has signed on to direct an adaptation of Neal Bascomb’s upcoming book The Grand Escape.
Film4 and Element Pictures, who worked together with Abrahamson on Frank and Room, have optioned the book, which Abrahamson’s long-term collaborators Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe will produce for Element Pictures.
The Grand Escape is the true story of three daredevil World War I pilots being held in Germany’s most infamous POW prison. The story chronicles WWI’s greatest mass prison escape, and the pilots’ subsequent flight to freedom.
The multi-award winning Irish film director is well known for his films, Adam & Paul, Garage, What Richard Did and Frank. He has worked with major theatrical talents such as Brie Larson, Michael Fassbender, William H. Macy, Maggie Gyllenhall, Domhnall Gleeson, Pat Shortt, and Jack Reynor.
Abrahamson’s last film Room was recently nominated for four Oscars, including one for him as Best Director. The film has reecived multiple award nominations and wins from some of the world’s leading awards bodies including the Independent Spirit Awards, Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, Screen Actors Guild, IFTA, and BAFTA.
Abrahamson has his pick of next projects, as he is currently attached to an adaptation of Laird Hunt’s Civil War novel Neverhome; an adaptation of Sarah Waters’ The Little Stranger with Frank star Domhnall Gleeson; and a biography of boxer Emile Griffith, based on the book A Man’s World: The Double Life Of Emile Griffith. Abrahamson will also direct some episodes of the new Hulu television series Chance, starring Hugh Laurie.