Neil Jordan has charted an interesting career, from movies like Interview With The Vampire and The Crying Game to The Brave One and the recent Ondine. Now Variety reports he’s signed up for a new movie, as he’s planning to write and direct an adaptation of Paul Murray Booker Prize long-listed novel, Skippy Dies.
Jordan’s longtime producing partner Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen will produce the film, which is set in a school in Ireland, and follows the adventures or roomates Ruprecht and Skippy. The former is a mathematical genius, while the latter’s mother is dying of cancer and he’s being abused by the gym teacher. As you might have guessed from the title, Skippy then dies, with Ruprecht engaging in science experiments to try and reach his friend beyond the grave.
Pitched as a dark comedy, it continues Jordan’s fascination with Irish youth, which he’s often spoken of but rarely committed to film, other than in the likes of The Butcher Boy. There’s no news yet on when the film might go into production.