Atsuko Hirayanagi To Direct Legendary’s ‘The Last Adventures Of Constance Verity’ Starring Awkwafina

EXCLUSIVE: Legendary has tapped Independent Spirt Award nominee Atsuko Hirayanag to direct an adaptation of The Last Adventures of Constance Verity starring Awkwafina. The film is based on the fantasy adventure novel written by A. Lee Martinez. Golden Globe award winner Awkwafina will star in the film based on a spec script by John Raffo. Jon Shestack will produce.

First published in 2016 via Saga Press, the story centers on Constance Verity who, for mysterious reasons, was thrust into a battle with the supernatural the moment she was born, and has been saving the world from disaster ever since. Now in her thirties, Connie’s biggest dream is to live a simple life – settle down with a boyfriend, hold a boring desk job, find some friends and just be NORMAL. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to walk away from the supernatural if you are, in fact, the chosen one. The follow-up novel, Constance Verity Saves the World, was released in Summer 2018, and Martinez is currently writing the third book.

Born and raised in Japan, Atsuko Hirayanagi is an award winning screenwriter and director based in San Francisco. Her debut feature Oh Lucy! was an extrapolation of her student short of the same name. The short won the Wasserman Award / first prize for a graduate film and also won more than 35 awards around the world, including at Cannes, Sundance, Chicago and the Toronto International Film Festivals. The feature script, a comedic drama set in both Japan and the US, was a recipient of the 2016 Sundance / NHK Award. The film was executive produced by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell and was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for the “Best First Feature” and “Best Actress” categories at 2018 Independent Spirit Awards. She is repped by UTA.