Netflix said on Tuesday that it will make a live-action film adaptation of author Kotaro Isaka’s novel Seesaw Monster. The comic thriller will star Anne Hathaway and Salma Hayek Pinault, according to the platform. The script is being written by Olivia Milch (Ocean’s Eight, Dude).
Isaka’s work includes two short stories, “Seesaw Monster” and “Spin Monster,” that are linked yet take place in different eras. “Seesaw Monster” takes place in late Showa Japan, at the height of the country’s economic bubble, and begins with Mieko, the wife of a former journalist, fighting with her mother-in-law Setsu. “Spin Monster” takes place in 2050, in a world where analog technology has resurfaced. Mito, a messenger, becomes embroiled in a major incident concerning the letter of a brilliant engineer.
In April 2019, Isaka published the novel in Japan. On October 21, a new bunko edition of the novel was released.
Anne Hathaway and Salma Hayek are both well-renowned actresses in the industry. Anne Hathaway received an Oscar for her performance in Les Misérables (2013), after being nominated for Rachel Getting Married (2009). She most recently appeared in HBO Max’s adaption of The Witches. She also starred in James Grey’s autobiographical drama Armaggedon Time, which received critical acclaim at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, alongside Jeremy Strong and Anthony Hopkins.
Salma Hayek on the other hand received an Oscar nomination for her depiction of painter Frida Kahlo in the 2002 Film, Frida. She most recently co-starred in Ridley Scott’s criminal drama House of Gucci and Marvel’s Eternals with Lady Gaga. Upcoming projects include a co-starring part in Magic Mike’s Last Dance with Channing Tatum and a role in Angelina Jolie’s Without Blood.
Seesaw Monster is not the first novel that Kotaro Isaka has written which inspired a film adaptation. Some of his other novels like the novel Bullet Train (Maria Beetle) also spawned a Hollywood film adaptation starring Brad Pitt, which premiered on August 5. The novel first appeared in Japan in 2010, and it will be released in English by The Overlook Press in April 2021.
No other official details have been revealed by Netflix so far, however, more are expected to come our way in the next months.
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