By now, the odds are you have read the New Yorker short story “Cat Person” by Kristen Roupenia. “Cat Person” was the year’s most downloaded fiction published in The New Yorker, and one of the most widely read pieces overall of 2017. The story follows the brief relationship between a young twenty-year-old female sophomore college student and an older man who is a regular at the movie theater where Margot works. The BBC described the short story as “being shared widely online as social media users discuss how much it relates to modern-day dating.” The true hook of it all that makes the basic plotline more intriguing than it sounds? Toxicity, conflicted and contested desire, miscommunication, people not at all reading things the same way online, and the complexities of trying to date over text (though that would be the simplest version).
As you’re probably aware, a movie is being made. Nicholas Braun (“Succession”) Emilia Jones (“CODA”) were announced as the two leads months ago, and this week the entire cast was announced, top off initially with the addition of Geraldine Viswanathan (“The Broken Hearts Gallery”). STUDIOCANAL and The New Yorker Studios announced today the complete cast today. They include Hope Davis (“Your Honor”), Michael Gandolfini (“The Many Saints of Newark”), Liza Koshy (“Liza on Deman”), Fred Melamed (“A Serious Ma”), Isaac Powell (“American Horror Story”), Isabella Rossellini (“Joy”) and Donald Elise Watkins (the forthcoming “Emergency). Susanna Fogel, known for “The Flight Attendant” and “The Wild,” is directing the film, being described as a “psychological thriller,” and production has started today. Here’s the official synopsis:
CAT PERSON is based on the short story by Kristen Roupenian, published in The New Yorker in 2017 to worldwide acclaim. CAT PERSON was the year’s most downloaded fiction published in The New Yorker and one of the most widely read pieces overall of 2017. The story follows the brief relationship between Margot (Jones), a twenty-year-old sophomore college student, and Robert (Braun), an older man who is a regular at the movie theater where Margot works.
Written by Michelle Ashford (“Masters of Sex,” “The Pacific,” Operation Mincemeat”), “Cat Person” will be produced by Jeremy Steckler (Only the Brave, The Old Man & The Gun) and New Yorker Studios’ Helen Estabrook (“Whiplash,” “Tully”). Susanna Fogel, Michelle Ashford, Daniel Hank, and Gino Falsetto will executive produce. Presumably, this will come out in 2022, but what season remains unclear, maybe the fall? Either way, as a literary sensation, this will probably intrigue audiences, in the same way the stories by Gillian Flynn‘s (“Gone Girl“) have. Don’t be surprised if there’s a huge female audience for this one.