With an eye to star, Ethan Hawke has boarded a feature adaptation of Angie Kim‘s New York Times bestseller Happiness Falls as an executive producer.
Scott Steindorff‘s Stone Village Television landed rights following a competitive bidding situation, in a six-figure deal, with Hawke’s Under the Influence Productions then coming aboard. Ryan Hawke, Ethan Hawke, and Mickey Schiff will exec produce for Under the Influence, alongside Dylan Russell, with Maria Breese-McLain, Bill Way and Elliot Whitton producing.
Published by Hogarth, a boutique imprint of Random House, Happiness Falls is a tale of a family in crisis when a father goes missing, forcing them to question everything they thought they knew about him and each other.
“I’m thrilled to be partnering with Scott Steindorff, Dylan Russell, and the entire team at Stone Village, as well as Ethan Hawke and Under the Influence Productions’ team to bring Happiness Falls to the screen,” the book’s author, Kim, stated. “Stone Village’s history of telling powerful, important stories is unmatched, and I’m positive that there is no better team to spearhead my book’s adaptation with passion and sensitivity.”
Said Steindorff, “This book is very much in my wheelhouse. It deals with a non-speaking boy on the spectrum. I found the family dynamic and the father’s exploration of happiness, along with the complexities of interracial relationships and spectrum issues, to be a perfect fit for me to tell this story. I am thrilled and believe it’s one of the best books I will ever adapt. I’m genuinely excited to be working with Angie and Under the Influence Productions.”
Added the team at Under the Influence Productions, “Happiness Falls is a gripping character driven mystery that explores how language and storytelling impacts us all, exposing the complexities of a family in turmoil where authenticity and love become a necessary and treasured currency. Under the Influence is honored to join Scott Steindorff in bringing Angie Kim’s incredible story to life onscreen.”
Stone Village was behind the acclaimed Max series Station Eleven, as well as the Netflix docuseries Fire Chasers, also helping to produce Fernando Grostein Andrade and Fernando Siqueira’s social impact film Breaking Myths. Known for adaptations of best-selling novels like The Human Stain, Empire Falls, Love in the Time of Cholera, The Lincoln Lawyer, the company has also produced originals like Chef and Jane Got a Gun. Most recently, Steindorff directed and produced the documentary Understanding Autism, which will be released on April 4th on PBS SoCal, PBS.org and the PBS app, rolling out nationwide in local PBS broadcasters throughout April.
Under the Influence’s latest feature WildcatT, starring Maya Hawke as Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor, premiered at the Telluride Film Festival. Currently, the company is exec producing The Sensitive Kind for FX, a pilot written, directed, and executive produced by Reservation Dogs’ Sterlin Harjo. Other past credits include I Am a Town, Seymour: An Introduction, Blaze, and Adopt a Highway.
Most recently seen starring in Netflix’s smash hit thriller Leave the World Behind from Sam Esmail, Hawke will next be seen in Uni’s sequel to his smash hit horror pic The Black Phone, among other projects. He is repped by CAA and Mgmt Entertainment.
Russell represented Stone Village Films during the rights negotiation process, with UTA handling negotiations on behalf of Kim.