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After working together on Sony’s sci-fi thriller Life, Jake Gyllenhaal and Daniel Espinosa are set to reteam for an adaptation of Seth Harp’s Rolling Stone article THE ANARCHISTS VS ISIS, which Gyllenhaal’s Ninestories banner has optioned in association with Bold Films.
Gyllenhaal is expected to star in the film, which is based on the true story of a ragtag team of American volunteers, socialists and outcasts who are fighting alongside the Kurdish militia known as the YPG to beat ISIS in Syria and establish an anarchist collective amid the rubble of war.
Espinosa will produce The Anarchists vs ISIS under his newly-formed production banner BOZI alongside Gyllenhaal and his producing partner Riva Marker of Ninestories. Bold Films chairman Michel Litvak will also produce, while the company’s CEO Gary Michael Walters will serve as executive producer.
“Thematically, we’re often attracted to material about the search for identity, especially in a world where it’s become easier to feel less and less connected. Seth’s story is about people who abandon everything that’s familiar as a means to connect in the most brutal of circumstances,” said Marker, who is currently searching for a screenwriter to adapt Harp’s article.
“In a very short time under the leadership of Jake and Riva, Ninestories has become an incredibly exciting production company. Their vision for fresh and provocative material coupled with brilliant filmmakers like Daniel Espinosa aligns perfectly with Bold’s mandate,” added Litvak.
WME represents Gyllenhaal, Ninestories and Espinosa, the latter of whom is managed by Shelley Browning of Magnolia Entertainment. Gyllenhaal and Ninestories are also repped by Bloom Hergott. UTA negotiated Harp’s deal on behalf of Alex Jacobs at Elyse Cheney Associates.
Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief
