Nick Cave‘s novel The Death Of Bunny Munro is to be made into a TV mini-series.
The musician and screenwriter told Empire about the adaptation at June’s Dundee Literature Festival, stating he originally wrote the story as a screenplay, but had it published as a novel after it failed to move forward.
A dark and humorous book, the plot is centred around the life of a sex-addicted cosmetics salesman after his wife commits suicide.
According to the Bad Seeds singer, Ray Winstone is “dying” to play the part of Bunny and John Hillcoat – who has worked with Cave before on The Proposition – is lined up to direct.
“[Winstone] really loved the script when we first handed it to him,” explained Cave. “He was really excited about it, and really distressed it kinda tanked and never got made.”
After playing the role of Captain Stanley in Cave‘s 2005 film The Proposition, the screenwriter is confident Winstone is perfect for the role.
“Ray let himself go for that particular part. When he speaks everyone cranes toward him: he has this kind of pull which is really extraordinary. It’s something to do with his ability to be really funny, and the kind of vulnerability he has going on.”
John Hillcoat said of the pair’s ambitions for the project: “We’re going to try and wake up the BBC or Channel4, and say to British television, ‘Look at HBO. I mean what the hell are you doing?'”
Cave also hinted he is presently trying to get another full-length feature film under way.