Austin Butler’s new movie City on Fire has received a big update, as its found a big-name writer to adapt the source material. As reported by Deadline, Justin Kuritzkes has been tapped to turn the first book in Don Winslow’s trilogy of crime novels into a star vehicle for the Elvis actor.
Kuritzkes is known for working with Call Me By My Name’s Luca Guadagnino, having written his new film Challengers, the film about tennis players involved in an intense love triangle. That film, starring Zendaya, is out in just a few days. He’s also written Guadagnino’s next film, Queer, which is an adaptation of William S Burroughs’ novel of the same name from 1985, and stars Daniel Craig.
When the film adaptation of his work was announced, Winslow had nothing but praise for lead actor (and producer) Butler. “Like so many people around the world I was amazed by Austin Butler’s Oscar-nominated performance in Elvis,” Winslow said in a press release.
“I’ve had a number of conversations with Austin about this trilogy that I’ve been working on for almost thirty years of my life and I have been deeply impressed by his commitment to playing Danny Ryan as well as his passion to also produce the three films.”
Elizabeth Gabler, president of Sony subsidiary 3000 Pictures, added: “It is a dream come true to envision Austin, with his uniquely brilliant and charismatic talent, bringing this character and story to cinematic life.
“Don is an iconic novelist and a true master of the genre of suspenseful crime fiction and has created one of the most memorable modern-day heroes in Danny Ryan.”
