Taron Egerton and Range Media Partners have secured the screen rights to Josh Silver’s debut novel, the LGBTQ+ psychological thriller “HappyHead” just days ahead of its 16 March publication date.
Commenting on the deal, Egerton said: “This is the first piece of material I have ever optioned. I am excited and a tiny bit scared which I think is a good place to be. It also happens to be written by one of my best friends, Josh Silver … I love this book and I love the main character, Seb. I love what it has to say about being a young person and mental health and the importance of self love and being true to who you are … I cannot wait to get to work bringing this story to the big screen with Range Media Partners.”
Silver added: “I am beyond thrilled that Range Media Partners and Taron will be developing HappyHead for the screen. Their passion and creative vision is inspiring, and I can’t wait to be a part of this journey with them. They are the perfect home for it.”
The book launches in the UK next week via Oneworld and is the first instalment in a planned series. This first novel follows protagonist Seb, who is accepted to take part in a radical retreat initiative designed to address the national “teenage unhappiness” crisis. Despite Seb’s determination to redeem himself to change how people see him and to do his parents proud, he soon finds himself gravitating towards the enigmatic Finn and starts to question the true nature of the challenges they are set. The deeper into the programme the boys get, the more disturbing the assessments become, until it’s clear there might not actually be an escape from the programme…
The deal was brokered by Leah Middleton at Marjacq Scripts on behalf of Becky Bagnell of the Lindsay Literary Agency. Egerton and Range will be equal partners on the project across all creative and business aspects, but Egerton has no plans to star in the project.
Egerton previously served as a producer on the Apple TV+ series “Black Bird”, which he also starred in. He is also producing and starring another upcoming Apple TV+ drama series, “Firebug,” which follows a troubled detective and an enigmatic arson investigator (played by Egerton) as they track down two serial arsonists.
