Producer of Normal People, Element Pictures, has acquired the film and television rights to Nicola Dinan’s much-awaited debut, Bellies.
Owner of Element Fremantle claims that the rights to the LGBT love tale were acquired after a “hotly fought auction,” even though the book wasn’t set to be released for another year. Like how it developed the BBC/Hulu Sally Rooney adaptations Normal People and Conversations with Friends, Element will turn Bellies into an eight-part, 30-minute television series.
To turn the book into an eight-episode television series, Dinan will collaborate with the Fremantle-owned business. Next summer, the book will be published in both the UK and the US. “Bellies” is about “two gay students, Tom and Ming, who fall in love at university and find their relationship profoundly upended when Ming comes out as trans and plans to transition,” according to the logline. Along with De Maio Entertainment, Fremantle will represent worldwide sales for the movie. Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, and Chelsea Morgan Hoffmann of Element Pictures will also executive produce with Dinan.
According to Guiney, Lowe, and Hoffmann, “Nicola’s writing, which is in equal parts humorous and heart-breaking, quickly captivated and transported us to the love tale between Tom and Ming.” “We believe that the world desperately needs a love story like theirs, one that honors the passion and thrill of first love while also honestly allowing for the space and complexity of their evolving relationship as Ming transitions and as the two of them become adulthood. We are thrilled to adapt their narrative for the big screen and are overjoyed that Nicola is doing it herself.
People have informed me that ‘Bellies’ has given them a new viewpoint,’ Dinan continued. That strikes me as particularly noteworthy and serves as a reminder that fiction frequently enlightens in ways that straight facts do not. “Bellies” isn’t really about identity at its core. Instead, it tells the story of two young people who are trying to figure out where they fit in while also learning how to take care of one another and those around them. I’m overjoyed to be working with Element and having the chance to develop these characters further and present them to the public on film.
Lesley Thorne of Aitken Alexander Associates Ltd mediated the deal between Mark Byrne and Element Pictures.