Laura Dern (Big Little Lies), Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place), and Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) have all been cast in the new Justin Kurzel (Nitram) film Morning, which HanWay is releasing.
The movie is set in the near future, when humanity has developed a medication that eliminates the need for sleep. Morning daylight, living, and work are endless with the help of an artificial sun. However, when a new generation grows up without access to the world of sleep, they may consider rebelling in order to recapture their dreams.
Sam Steiner, a Manchester-born writer, wrote Morning. SunnyMarch, Cumberbatch and Adam Ackland's production company, has picked up the screenplay. Leah Clarke, SunnyMarch's Head of Film, is producing alongside Ackland.
Cumberbatch will executive-produce alongside Dern and Jayme Lemons, through their firm Jaywalker Pictures, and Marnie Podos, following good reviews for Jane Campion drama The Power Of The Dog and enormous box office blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The film will reunite filmmaker Kurzel with several of his former colleagues, including cinematographer Adam Arkapaw and BAFTA-nominated designer Alice Babidge, who worked on Macbeth, The Snowtown Murders, and Assassin's Creed. The commencement date and location of the shoot have yet to be determined.
Kurzel's most recent film, Nitram, premiered in competition at Cannes, where main actor Caleb Landry Jones won the Best Actor award.
Morning's ambitious and driven Cathy (Dern) was an early proponent of a sleepless world, but as she and her son Danny (Jupe) pick up the pieces of their lives following the death of her husband Frank (Cumberbatch), she discovers that the universe she helped to build is crumbling around her, and memories she fought so hard to repress are bleeding into her waking life. Cathy must confront her nightmares and battle hard not to lose her son as Danny is dragged deeper into a rebellious underworld of dreamers.
Adam Ackland said: “Morning is a joyful, reflective, and defiant story about a reality not so far from our own where a preoccupation with productivity has destroyed our ability to connect, grieve and love. We cannot wait to see this incredibly talented cast and creative team headed by Justin, Laura and Noah bring Sam’s brilliantly original script to life.”
HanWay Films MD Gabrielle Stewart commented: “Morning asks so many questions of us as people with ambitions, hopes, emotions and dreams, and it is fascinating to debate what sleep means to our very existence and our souls. What would we be like if we had never dreamt? It also contains the spirit of youth rebelling against the choices of their parents. Morning provokes, moves, entices… and it has an amazing team behind it.”
Aside from Morning, Steiner is currently working on the horror film Banquet, which will be directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia.
CAA represents Dern and Kurzel, while CAA, Grandview, and The Artist Partnership represent Jupe. UTA is Cumberbatch's and SunnyMarch's agent. Steiner is represented by CAA and Under New Mgmt.
