Jonathan Bailey and Bill Nighy are set to star in Insomniac City, director Dominic Cooke’s adaptation of writer and photographer Bill Hayes’ memoir about his romance with celebrated neurologist Oliver Sacks.
The casting was unveiled Monday on the eve of the American Film Market in Los Angeles, where Altitude will introduce the project to international buyers.
Bailey (Bridgerton) will play Hayes opposite Nighy (About Time) as Sacks. Adapted from Hayes’ 2017 memoir, the film follows his move from San Francisco to New York in the aftermath of a devastating loss. As he rebuilds his life, Hayes unexpectedly falls in love with both his adopted city and Sacks, beginning a relationship that transformed both men’s lives during the neurologist’s final years.
Sacks’ work famously includes The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings, the latter adapted into the Oscar-nominated film starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro.
Cooke, whose directing credits include The Courier and On Chesil Beach, co-wrote the screenplay with Hayes.
“Insomniac City is a rare story that feels both profoundly intimate and epic in scope,” Cooke said in a statement. “It is also a love letter to New York City itself, a place of endless possibility, reinvention and connection.”
Troy Lum and Andrew Mason are producing for their U.K.-Australian banner Brouhaha Entertainment alongside Bailey, Mike Goodridge and Gabrielle Tana. Altitude’s Will Clarke, Andy Mayson and Mike Runagall will executive produce.