‘Too Much Lip’ optioned for screen adaptation

Melissa Lucashenko’s Miles Franklin Literary Award-winning novel Too Much Lip (UQP) has been optioned for screen by production company Cenozoic Pictures.

The deal, which was negotiated by Lucashenko’s agent Alex Adsett, was made in May this year but only made public following the Miles Franklin Literary Award announcement on 30 July.

‘Suffice to say, we’re absolutely thrilled,’ said Adsett. ‘We couldn’t be happier with Cenozoic’s sympathy and vision for Melissa’s fierce (and funny) dark book. Melissa is closely working with them on script development, and it’s all looking incredible.’

Cenozoic is a Melbourne-based production company founded in late 2018 by filmmakers Veronica Gleeson, Luke Walker and Suzanne Walker.

Inside Film reports that Gleeson is adapting the novel with Lucashenko as co-creator and co-writer.

‘Melissa Lucashenko is a luminous talent we have long admired,’ said the company in a statement. ‘Her writing is urgent, funny, sharp and painfully vital. From the opening pages, Too Much Lip boasts an exciting cinematic fluency. We could not be more thrilled with the opportunity to realise Too Much Lip to the screen. It is an extraordinary work of guts and power—that should be shared broadly.’

Tags: book to filmCenozoic PicturesMelissa Lucashenkoscreen adaptation

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