Award-winning independent studio The Ink Factory is reuniting with German production company Amusement Park to coproduce a television series adapted from John le Carré’s famous novel A Most Wanted Man.
The New York Times called the British espionage specialist’s book his “strongest, most powerful novel” on its release in 2008, and the Guardian hailed as “a humane novel which takes on the world's latest binarism and exposes troubling shades of grey”.
Amusement Park was one of the co-producers on The Ink Factory’s 2014 feature film of the same name directed by Anthony Corbijn and starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams and Daniel Brühl who is a partner in Amusement Park, alongside founder Malte Grunert and Amelie von Kienlin. The TV series adaptation will be written and showrun by celebrated Swedish screenwriter Oskar Söderlund (pictured) and the events and characters of the novel updated to a modern day European context.
Commenting on the adaptation, Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell, co-CEOs and founders at The Ink Factory, said: “We have great respect for the team at Amusement Park and are excited to be building on our original collaboration to cast one of le Carré’s most impactful and resonant works in a new light. Le Carré’s searing insights into political machinations and the fallible and morally complex people behind them have an eternal relevance, and we are thrilled to be working with the very best in international creative talent in Oskar on this adaptation.”
Amelie von Kienlin and Malte Grunert added: “It is very exciting to revisit this fantastic novel by John Le Carré together with The Ink Factory, setting it in a timely and contemporary geopolitical context. Oskar Söderlund is the perfect fit to turn this story into a relevant and suspenseful thriller series that is rooted locally but will engage an international audience.”
Oskar Söderlund remarked, “It’s not the first time one can say that we live in troubled times. But this time one thing is missing: the voice of John le Carré. It feels like he’s always been there, creating great storytelling out of current and dramatic events. What would he say about what is happening right now in the world? That question is the basis for this series. With great honour and humility, I will take a shot at answering that. We will use the story of the novel A Most Wanted Man as the starting point to recreate John le Carré’s signature - great and insightful commentary through fiction about the times we live in.”
Amusement Park was one of the co-producers on The Ink Factory’s 2014 feature film of the same name directed by Anthony Corbijn and starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams and Daniel Brühl who is a partner in Amusement Park, alongside founder Malte Grunert and Amelie von Kienlin. The TV series adaptation will be written and showrun by celebrated Swedish screenwriter Oskar Söderlund (pictured) and the events and characters of the novel updated to a modern day European context.
Commenting on the adaptation, Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell, co-CEOs and founders at The Ink Factory, said: “We have great respect for the team at Amusement Park and are excited to be building on our original collaboration to cast one of le Carré’s most impactful and resonant works in a new light. Le Carré’s searing insights into political machinations and the fallible and morally complex people behind them have an eternal relevance, and we are thrilled to be working with the very best in international creative talent in Oskar on this adaptation.”
Amelie von Kienlin and Malte Grunert added: “It is very exciting to revisit this fantastic novel by John Le Carré together with The Ink Factory, setting it in a timely and contemporary geopolitical context. Oskar Söderlund is the perfect fit to turn this story into a relevant and suspenseful thriller series that is rooted locally but will engage an international audience.”
Oskar Söderlund remarked, “It’s not the first time one can say that we live in troubled times. But this time one thing is missing: the voice of John le Carré. It feels like he’s always been there, creating great storytelling out of current and dramatic events. What would he say about what is happening right now in the world? That question is the basis for this series. With great honour and humility, I will take a shot at answering that. We will use the story of the novel A Most Wanted Man as the starting point to recreate John le Carré’s signature - great and insightful commentary through fiction about the times we live in.”
