George Clooney to Direct, Star in ‘Good Morning, Midnight’ Adaptation for Netflix

By Justin Kroll

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – George Clooney has signed on to direct and star in a feature film adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel “Good Morning, Midnight” for Netflix.

Mark L. Smith will adapt the screenplay from the sci-fi thriller, which was named one of the best books of 2017 by the Chicago Review of Books. The post-apocalyptic tale follows the parallel stories of Augustine (Clooney), a lonely scientist in the Arctic, and an astronaut on board the Aether spacecraft, which is trying to return home to Earth, as Augustine races to make contact with the spaceship.

Clooney and Smokehouse Pictures’ Grant Heslov will produce alongside Anonymous Content and Syndicate Entertainment, who sourced the material.

“Grant and I couldn’t be more excited to be involved with this incredible project,” said Clooney. “Mark is a writer we’ve long admired and his script is haunting. We’re thrilled to be working with our friends at as well.”

The film, which does not yet have a title, will begin production in October.

“Having known and worked with George for over two decades, I can’t think of anyone better to bring this amazing story to life,” said Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film division. “The book is powerful and moving, and Mark’s adaptation is beautifully written. At its core, this is a story about human nature, and one that I know our global audiences will fall in love with, just like I did when I read it.”

The adaptation marks Clooney’s first feature film for a streamer and first project with Netflix, though he recently executive produced, appeared in, and directed a few episodes for Hulu’s series adaptation of “Catch-22.” The film also marks his first directing gig since Paramount’s “Suburbicon” in 2017 and the first film he has starred in since 2016’s “Money Monster” for Sony.

Clooney is repped by CAA.