Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch was a shoo-in for a movie adaptation. It’s got art theft, it’s got terrorism, it’s got drugs, it’s got Vegas, it’s got daddy issues, it’s got a Pulitzer, and, according to Michiko Kakutani, it’s a “rapturous, symphonic whole.” But what it didn’t have until now was a screenwriter.
Deadline announced this morning that Peter Straughan, the writer of the best movie about an obscure post-punk musician in a papier-mâché head (that’s Frank, by the way), will be writing the adaptation of The Goldfinch, which was acquired by Warner Bros. and RatPac entertainment this summer. Straughan’s other credits include The Men Who Stare at Goats (which, like Frank, was based on a book by Jon Ronson), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. With such varied credits, it’s completely feasible that Straughan will be able to compress The Goldfinch’s thematic and scenic meandering into a decent feature film.
