GEORGE CLOONEY TO DIRECT AND STAR IN UNTITLED MARK L. SMITH PROJECT FOR NETFLIX

Hollywood, Calif., -- June 24, 2019 -Netflix announced today that Academy Award Winner George Clooney is in pre-production on an untitled feature project for Netflix that he will direct and star in. Mark L. Smith adapted the screenplay from the novel Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton. Smokehouse Pictures' Grant Heslov (Academy Award Winner) and Clooney will produce alongside Anonymous Content and Syndicate Entertainment, who sourced the material.

This post-apocalyptic tale follows the parallel stories of Augustine (Clooney), a lonely scientist in the Arctic, as he races to make contact with the crew of the Aether spacecraft as they try to return home to Earth. Brooks-Dalton's novel was met with critical acclaim and was named one of the best books of the year by Shelf Awareness and the Chicago Review of Books. The film will begin production in October.

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

"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."

About Smokehouse Pictures

Smokehouse Pictures is a motion picture and television company founded in 2006 by George Clooney and Grant Heslov. Their most recent project is Catch-22, a six-part limited series for Hulu based on the Joseph Heller novel that Clooney and Heslov directed and served as executive producers on. Smokehouse's films include Good Night and Good Luck, for which Clooney was nominated for Best Director and Heslov and Clooney were nominated for Best Original Screenplay. The film garnered a total of six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. They also produced the Academy Award winning Best Picture Argo along with The Ides of March, for which the partners were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Other Smokehouse films include Suburbicon, Money Monster, Our Brand is Crisis, The Monuments Men, August: Osage County, The American, Leatherheads and The Men Who Stare at Goats.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world's leading internet entertainment service with over 148 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.