Greg Silverman’s Stampede and Vertigo Entertainment are teaming on Sunburnt Country, a feature adaptation of the gritty novel by Australian author Gabriel Bergmoser.
The book tells the tale of millennial backpackers Maggie and Simon as they go off-roading in the Australian wilderness and stumble upon a reclusive backwater town where they quickly realize that the locals hunt and kill outsiders for sport. Maggie tries to fight her way out of their grip, embroiling an elderly rest stop attendant and his granddaughter, who stop at nothing to help her.
Pic will be produced by Vertigo’s Roy Lee and Jon Berg, the latter of whom worked for years at Warner Bros with Silverman.
Silverman described the book as a “thriller reminiscent of those we used to see and we’re incredibly excited to see it on the big screen. As we continue to produce for the world, we’re very excited to bring this Australian story to the screen with such vivid color.”
Bergmoser is repped by Jerry Kalajian at Intellectual Property Group and Tara Wynne at Curtis Brown Australia; the U.S. publishing deal will be handled by Katelyn Detweiler at Grinberg Literary on behalf of Tara Wynne at Curtis Brown Australia.
