By Hoai-Tran Bui/June 5, 2019 1:30 pm EST
In an in-depth interview with The Cut, Tan revealed her next project will be cut from the same cloth as Shirkers, but instead of telling her own story, she’s telling that of writer Elif Batuman. The Turkish American writer published a hit semi-autobiographical 2017 novel that seemed like it would defy adaptation: The Pulitzer Prize finalist is a meandering, stream-of-consciousness epistolary romance that follows Batuman as a cerebral Harvard student falling in love with the titular “idiot” told through a series of emails. But Tan saw a kindred spirit in Batuman that reflected her own journey in Shirkers and was inspired to adapt it.
According to The Cut, Tan is teaming with Animal Kingdom and Cinereach to write and direct an adaptation of The Idiot, which she enthusiastically describes as “the intelligent, creative young woman’s Twilight.”
“It’s about this woman who is head smart and heart stupid — that’s why she’s the idiot,” she explains. “And she’s being sucked into this vortex of obsession by this guy, and by the end of it she gets destroyed. But instead of turning into a vampire, she turns into an artist. And to watch that transformation is a wonderful thing.”
A coming-of-age romance told through a dreamy, surreal lens that recalls the perverse gothic gender dynamics of Vertigo and Phantom Thread? Yes, if Tan pulls this off, this may be my new favorite movie. And considering how great Shirkers is, she just might.
