EXCLUSIVE: The Gotham Group has optioned Stephen G. Bloom’s acclaimed nonfiction book The Audacity of Inez Burns, for development as a television/streaming series.
Published by Regan Arts in 2018, The Audacity of Inez Burns tells the story of Burns, an underground abortion provider and socialite in San Francisco in the early 20th century.
Per the description: Inez Burns was deemed a hero by the desperate women who sought her out — and loathed by some power-hungry men who plotted to destroy her. During a time when women risked their lives with predatory practitioners lurking in back alleys, Inez and her team worked night and day in her clinic, performing thousands of safe and hygienic abortions available during a time when even the richest wives, Hollywood stars and mistresses had few options. She eventually became the target of politicians’ ire.
The project is timely as the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to strike down Roe v. Wade and laws restricting abortion are expanding in several states.
In addition to The Audacity of Inez Burns, Bloom is the author of nonfiction narrative books Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes: A Cautionary Tale of Race and Brutality (University of California Press, 2021); Postville (Harcourt, 2000); The Oxford Project (Welcome Books, 2008); and Tears of Mermaids (St. Martin’s). Bloom is repped by Aevitas Creative Management.
The Gotham Group is in production on the dark fantasy-horror movie Wendell & Wild at Netflix with Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and director Henry Selick; Washington Black, based on Esi Edugyan’s acclaimed novel with Selwyn Hinds adapting and Sterling K. Brown producing and starring for Hulu. The Gotham Group is also in production on the recently announced Percy Jackson series on Disney+ along with The Spiderwick Chronicles series with Paramount Television, also for Disney+.