Season 2 of Pachinko ended not long ago, on quite a satisfying note but with hints of more to come; however, a third season hasn’t been greenlit yet, so fans only have to hope. Discussing the possibility of another installment of the beloved series with Deadline, creator Soo Hugh revealed she has another project in the works that will mark her feature directorial debut. Hugh is currently penning the script for a movie adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night for Searchlight and under her own label, Moonslinger, which she runs with former Universal Content Productions executive Margo Klewans.
In addition to Moonslinger, Tender is the Night is produced by LuckyChap and Putnam Pictures. Speaking about the exciting gig, which Hugh believes is more contained than the multilayered Pachinko, she said:
“I came from feature writing and in some ways it’s more challenging than TV, because in 120 pages, you have to pack in a universe, you have to pack in a life. In TV, I’m given 16 or 24 episodes to do that, so now with a feature, I feel like it’s about maximum impact writing.”
The creator also gave insight into how she would adapt the book, which is entirely different from what she did with Pachinko.
“I’m not going to adapt the entire book. It’s too unwieldy as a film. The book takes place over a wide expanse of time, and I’m actually going to do the opposite of Pachinko and just do a sliver, a part of the book.”
What Is ‘Tender is the Night’ About?
Tender is the Night is set on the Côte d’Azur in the jazz age and tells a story of the rise and fall of Dick Diver, a talented young psychiatrist, and his wife, Nicole, who is also one of his patients. As the story goes, Dick develops alcoholism while Nicole struggles with mental illness, both conditions that mirror the experiences of Fitzgerald and his wife. The book was published in April 1934 and is the fourth and final work completed by the brilliant author.
For Hugh, the messages in Tender is the Night speak to the essence of all of her creations as she dished:
“It’s a story about three very different people, in some ways damaged people, who all fall in love with each other. The big theme of that book goes to the question that’s in everything I make: Is this it? If this is the one life that we have, whether or not you believe in an afterlife, while my feet are here on this terrestrial land, is my life good enough?”
More details about Tender is the Night movie adaptation remains under wraps. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates, and in the meantime, stream Pachinko on Apple TV+.
via Collider