Ruth Ware’s The Turn of the Key to be adapted by Spiral star Max Minghella
By Mads Lennon
Ruth Ware’s (best) novel The Turn of the Key is set to be adapted for the big screen with a script written by Spiral star Max Minghella and Rocketman‘s Jamie Bell, reports Deadline.
Working Title has optioned the rights to Ware’s haunted house thriller The Turn of the Key, which does draw comparisons to Henry James’ Turn of the Screw, for those wondering. But having read almost all of Ware’s works so far, The Turn of the Key is one of my favorites and I’m excited about this news!
The story revolves around a young woman who finds an ad for a seemingly perfect job, staying in a high-tech “smart” house sequestered in the beautiful Scottish Highlands with an incredibly generous salary. But beyond the facade of a picture-perfect family and serene backdrop, something ominous is lurking and the setting is not nearly as idyllic as it initially appeared.
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The Turn of the Key is getting the big screen treatment from Max Minghella & Jamie Bell
While Minghella has experience in screenwriting with films like The 9th Life of Louis Drax and Teen Spirit, this project will mark Bell’s screenwriting debut. The film will be produced by Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, while Amelia Granger, Head of Film and TV, and Alexandra Loewy, President of Film US, will oversee the project’s development on Working Title’s behalf.
Deadline reports that the pitch process for the best-selling author’s story was highly competitive. Her other thrillers, In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Lying Game, and The Woman in Cabin 10 have all also been optioned for screen adaptions previously.
Are you looking forward to watching The Turn of the Key? Have you read the book? If not, do you plan to? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.