Natasha Lyonne is attached to star and produce in an adaptation of “Basketful of Heads” based on a comic book from author Joe Hill…
Natasha Lyonne is set to star and produce in a film adaptation based on the limited comic book series “Basketful of Heads,” which was written by author Joe Hill and produced under his Hill House banner for DC Comics.
Ana Lily Amirpour — best known for her work on the film “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” — is set to direct the film based on her own screenplay adaptation from the original work.
“Basketful of Heads” was a seven-issue limited series that actually kicked off Hill’s partnership with DC Comics as he produced his own run of horror based comic books. Hill is best known for stories such as “The Black Phone,” which became a hit for Blumhouse as well as his book “NOS4A2,” which was adapted into a TV series for AMC.
Here’s the synopsis for the original comic book series:
“This is the story of June Branch, a young woman trapped with four cunning criminals who have snatched her boyfriend for deranged reasons of their own. Now she must fight for her life with the help of an impossible 8th-century Viking axe that can pass through a man’s neck in a single swipe-and leave the severed head still conscious and capable of supernatural speech.
“Each disembodied head has a malevolent story of its own to tell, and it isn’t long before June finds herself in a desperate struggle to hack through their lies and manipulations… racing to save the man she loves before time runs out.”
Lyonne is producing the film through her label Animal Pictures along with financing from Bluestone, who brought the project to her attention.
In a statement provided to Deadline, Lyonne said she was “thrilled to work with the ingenious auteur Ana Lily Amirpour on such beloved IP and so grateful that Akiva and Bluestone brought it to us at Animal to develop. This one’s gonna be a knockout!”
Lyonne, who first came to fame after starring in the “American Pie” franchise, has more recently received rave reviews for her work in the Peacock series “Poker Face” as well as her run on the Netflix original series “Russian Doll” not to mention a past role on “Orange is the New Black.”
On the film side, Lyonne appeared in the critically acclaimed “His Three Daughters” and she’s also set to appear in the upcoming Marvel film “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
