Amazon MGM Studios have landed rights to Benjamin Percy’s novella“AmericanCriminal,” with Gavin O’Connor negotiating to direct.
The film, which Hidden Pictures and NeoText will produce, follows a professional thief who, after being apprehended by an FBI agent, is coaxed into infiltrating a violent Midwestern gang with the goal of dismantling them from the inside. However, what the FBI agent doesn’t know is that the thief is also orchestrating the largest – and last – heist of his life.
O’Connor has directed a number of popular and critically acclaimed works, including “Warrior” with Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy, “The Accountant” with Ben Affleck, “Miracle” with Kurt Russell, and “Tumbleweeds,” which featured an Oscar-nominated turn from Janet McTeer. He most recently retimed with Affleck on 2020’s “The Way Back,” the story of an alcoholic basketball coach.
Percy is the author of seven novels — including “The Sky Vault,” published this fall with William Morrow — as well as three books of short stories and essay collection. He writes Wolverine , X-Force, and Ghost Rider for Marvel Comics. He is currently working with director James Ponsoldt on the “Urban Cowboy” series at Paramount Plus. He co-wrote the film “Summering,” directed by James Ponsoldt which premiered at Sundance in 2022.
Hidden Pictures was formed in 2022 by Todd Lieberman, the producer of “Beauty and the Beast,” “Wonder,” and “The Fighter.” Notable and upcoming Hidden Pictures projects include a biopic of Cheech & Chong and an adaptation of the science-fiction graphic novel “A Radical Shift of Gravity” from Matt Charman, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of “Bridge of Spies.” Carly Kleinbart of Hidden Pictures sourced the material and will serve in a producing capacity.
NeoText was formed in 2020 by Addictive Pictures’ Russell Ackerman and John Schoenfelder, as well as producer Jay Schuminsky – all of whom will produce“American Criminal.” Its goal is to find “innovative ways to embrace creative storytelling in the digital age.” The company is actively developing “DNA” with Simon Kinberg’s Genre Films and Amazon MGM Studios and “Sorcerers” with AMC TV, among others.
Amazon acquired MGM Studios in 2022. Its recent films include “Creed III,” the rom-com “Red, White & Royal Blue” and “The Burial” with Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones. Upcoming releases include “Saltburn,” a psychological thriller from Emerald Fennell, and “American Fiction,” the feature film directing debut of “Succession” and “Watchmen” writer Cord Jefferson.
O’Connor is represented by WME and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich & Gellman. Percy is represented by WRIT LARGE and Curtis Brown.NeoText is represented by Lit Entertainment Group and attorney Robby Koch.
