Katie Kitamura’s Audition is headed to the big screen with Lucy Liu and Charles Melton attached to star, Deadline reports.
Kitamura’s novel, published in April by Riverhead, follows an actor who encounters a younger man who believes he might be her son. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, “In this searing, chilly, and psychologically profound story lies insight into some harrowing human questions.”
Liu (Charlie’s Angels, Chicago) and Melton (The Sun Is Also a Star, May December) are the only cast members to be announced so far. The adaptation will be written by Lulu Wang (Posthumous, The Farewell) and Martyna Majok (Preparation for the Next Life) and directed by Wang. Liu and Kitamura are among the film’s executive producers.
Higher Ground Productions and LAIKA Studios will produce the movie. Higher Ground is the company founded by former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama; Barack Obama included Audition in his recent summer reading list, calling the book “a quiet novel about the ways we hide our true selves from others—and ourselves.”
Kitamura shared news of the adaptation on Instagram, writing, “Dream team. Dream director, dream cast, dream writer, dream producers.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
