Tracy Letts' Bug to Hit the Big Screen

The downtown hit Bug is likely coming to the big screen. Playwright Tracy Letts is writing the screenplay based on his work and William Friedkin who optioned the rights to the play will direct the film with shooting expected to begin late this year in New Mexico, according to Variety.

A hallucinatory tale of pests and paranoia, Bug, which is currently in the midst of an acclaimed run at the Barrow Street Theatre, is a dark comedy exploring themes of isolation and delusion. Agnes, a scrappy, drug-addled woman is laying low in an Oklahoma City motel to avoid her ex-husband Goss who is on early release from prison. His arrival spells trouble when he discovers that Agnes has forged a new relationship with an enigmatic younger man named Peter. In this psycho-thriller, residents of this spooky motel are visited by mysterious strangers, haunted by events from their pasts and attacked by bugs.

Friedkin won as Oscar for directing The French Connection and was nominated for another one for his work on The Exorcist. His other film credits include The Boys in the Band, The Night They Raided Minsky's, Cruising, To Live and Die in L.A., Rampage, Blue Chips, Rules of Engagement and The Hunted.

A release date has not yet been set for the Bug film.