WHAT‘S HAPPENING
News & Events
Elisabeth Moss to headline Run Rabbit Run from SA writer Hannah Kent
15 June 2020
Elisabeth Moss is set to star in director Daina Reid’s Run Rabbit Run, the debut screenplay of South Australian novelist Hannah Kent.
Kent, author of the award-winning international hit Burial Rites, wrote the script from an original idea developed with Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw of Carver Films, who will also produce the feature to be partly shot in South Australia. Moss will also produce alongside her partner Lindsey McManus.
RUN RABBIT RUN is a Carver Films production, with major production investment from XYZ and Screen Australia, in association with Film Victoria and the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC).
As a fertility doctor, Sarah (Moss) has a firm understanding of the cycle of life: you are born, you live, and then you die. That’s it. But when she is forced to make sense of the increasingly strange behaviour of her young daughter Mia, Sarah must challenge her own beliefs and confront a ghost from her past.
Moss is best known for her roles as June Osborne in the Hulu series THE HANDMAID’S TALE and as Peggy Olson in AMC’s MAD MEN. She recently starred in the films THE INVISIBLE MAN and HER SMELL. She will next be seen in Wes Anderson’s THE FRENCH DISPATCH, Taika Waititi’s NEXT GOAL WINS and SHIRLEY for Neon Films.
Reid is known for directing episodes of THE HANDMAID’S TALE, HBO’s THE OUTSIDER, and Amazon’s UPLOAD as well as SUNSHINE.
Minister for Innovation and Skills The Hon David Pisoni MP said the film was a coup for South Australia: “As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to present new challenges to the screen industry worldwide, South Australia is actively investing in the recovery of the local sector, with major projects like this set to help kickstart production in the state once restrictions are lifted. I congratulate writer Hannah Kent on her big screen debut, which is set to be a true showcase of South Australian storytelling talent.”
SAFC CEO Kate Croser said: “We are thrilled to be supporting this film, which marks the screenwriting debut of talented South Australian novelist Hannah Kent. It is fantastic to be able to put South Australian storytellers in the global spotlight, and led by this critically acclaimed team of female key creatives, Run Rabbit Run is set to be a world-class production.”
Hannah Kent said: “I am hugely grateful to Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw of Carver Films for giving me the opportunity to write and develop an original screenplay. To now have that script in the hands of the extraordinarily talented Daina Reid and Elisabeth Moss is a thrill indeed.”
RUN RABBIT RUN is a Carver Films production, with major production investment from XYZ and Screen Australia, in association with Film Victoria and the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC).
The film will be produced by Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw for Carver Films, with XYZ Films executive producing. Moss will also produce alongside her partner Lindsey McManus. XYZ will finance as part of their fund with Finland’s IPR.VC, in conjunction with Screen Australia, with XYZ also handling worldwide sales at the upcoming Cannes Virtual Market. Umbrella Entertainment is managing Australia/NZ distribution.
XYZ’s recent slate of sales titles include DUAL starring Karen Gillan, Aaron Paul and Jesse Eisenberg, CUS AND MIKE starring Anthony Hopkins, current release VIVARIUM starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots and Sion Sono’s PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND, starring Nicolas Cage and Sofia Boutella. XYZ is also in post-production on STOWAWAY starring Anna Kendrick and Toni Collette.
Moss is repped by WME, Independent Talent Group and Ribisi Entertainment Group. Reid is repped by RGM Artists and ICM Partners.
About XYZ Films:
XYZ Films is an integrated content company whose mission is to empower visionary storytellers from every corner of the planet. As an independent production company and worldwide sales agency, the company is uniquely suited to identify talented filmmakers and bring their stories to life. XYZ was founded in 2008 by Nate Bolotin, Nick Spicer, and Aram Tertzakian. XYZ recently won the 2017 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Macon Blair’s I DON’T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE.
About Carver Films:
Carver Films is a development and production company run by award-winning producers Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw, making independent film and television with global reach. Carver’s latest feature, Natalie Erika James’ Relic, premiered at Sundance 2020 and stars Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin and Bella Heathcote. It was produced in partnership with Nine Stories’ Jake Gyllenhaal and Riva Marker, and AGBO’s Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers Infinity War, Avengers Endgame), and will be released by IFC in July 2020. Carver previously produced Ariel Kleiman’s Partisan starring Vincent Cassel (World Dramatic Competition, Sundance 2015); Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland’s Shopping (World Dramatic Competition, Sundance 2013; Grand Prix winner in its section, 2013 Berlin Film Festival); and Justin Kurzel’s debut feature Snowtown (Special Jury Award, Critics Week, Cannes 2011). In the TV space Carver produced SBS TV drama Sunshine, directed by Daina Reid and starring Melanie Lynskey and Anthony LaPaglia. Sunshine opened Séries Mania in Melbourne and won the 2017 AACTA for Best Mini-Series. Carver has a range of feature films and TV series in development, many of which are collaborations with Australian or US partners.