Film Version of David Harrower's Blackbird on Tap

A film version of David Harrower's Blackbird is being developed by Jean Doumanian Productions, with Harrower adapting his play for the screen. Doumanian, Woody Allen's former producing partner, recently announced that she will produced a film version of August: Osage County with a screenplay by its Tony-winning author Tracy Letts.

Blackbird is a two-person drama about the faceoff between a middle-aged man and the now-grown young woman with whom he had an illicit affair when she was in her early teens. Premiering at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005, Blackbird transferred to London's West End, where it won the 2007 Olivier Award for new play. A well-reviewed off-Broadway production at Manhattan Theater Club opened in the spring of 2007 starring Jeff Daniels and Alison Pill and directed by Joe Mantello. Cate Blanchett directed the play's Australian premiere for the Sydney Theater Company, and Variety reports that CSI star William Petersen will star in a production at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theatre next summer.

"When I saw Blackbird on stage, I was really struck by the raw, emotional intensity of David Harrower's characters and their gripping story," Doumanian said in a statement. "David has one of the most unique voices in the theatre today and the fact that he is now translating that voice to the screen with us is very exciting." No casting for the film version of Blackbird has been set.