Jacob Elordi To Produce And Star In Adaptation Of ‘The Executioner’s Song’ From United Artists

Scott Stuber’s United Artists has acquired the rights to the 1982 motion picture The Executioner’s Song and set Oscar nominee Jacob Elordi to produce and star in the pic. Based on Norman Mailer’s landmark 1979 Pulitzer-winning true-life novel, Elordi will play convicted murderer Gary Gilmore. While he has had exec producing credits in the past, this will mark the first time he is a hands on producer in the development process.

UA’s Stuber and Nick Nesbitt will produce alongside Elordi, his manager Matt Vioral and producer Sherry Marsh. Filmmaker Lawrence Schiller — who directed the original 1982 film and conducted the extensive interviews with Gilmore, his family and key figures that formed the foundation of Mailer’s book — will serve as an executive producer.

Mailer’s masterpiece chronicles the true story of Gilmore, a cold-blooded murderer who, after being tried and convicted for killing two men in Utah, insisted on being executed for his crimes. Fighting attorneys for a legal system intent on keeping him alive long after it sentenced him to death, Gilmore became a national media sensation and the first person executed in the United States following a four-year de facto moratorium on capital punishment. Told with impressive authority and compassion, The Executioner’s Song journeys deep into the heart of American violence, media frenzy and loneliness.

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Elordi recently starred as the iconic creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, a performance that earned him Critics Choice, Golden Globe, Actors Award and Oscar nominations. He gained widespread acclaim for his work in the award-winning series Euphoria and the World War II limited series The Narrow Road to the Deep North, which earned him an AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama. His prominent film credits also include Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights and Saltburn and Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars.

Elordi can be seen next starring opposite Scarlett Johansson in Ari Aster’s upcoming A24 thriller, Scapegoat.

Marsh executive producer credits include such hit series as the award-winning Vikings and Vikings: Valhalla, FX’s Peabody Award-winning drama Pose and MGM+’s The Winter King. Her active development slate features a film adaptation of Sarah Lotz’s novel The Impossible Us alongside Legendary’s 193 and Black Label Media, as well as a modern film project with Concord/RKO Pictures.

Schiller earned an Emmy Award for 1986’s Peter the Great during his long career of directing and making editorial contributions to television productions and documentaries. As a prolific writer, he penned the No. 1 New York Times best-seller American Tragedy and collaborated extensively with Mailer on five major books, including The Executioner’s Song. Today, More than 800 boxes of his archives are preserved at the Briscoe Center at the University of Texas.

Elordi is represented by Gersh Agency, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Goodman Genow Schenkman. Marsh and Schiller are represented by Mark S. Temple at Mark S. Temple Professional Law Corporation.

Via: Deadline