EXCLUSIVE: Blood in the Water, the true story of the murder at sea of Philip Boudreau, is set to be adapted for screen after Pictou Twist Pictures, the company founded by Trailer Park Boys co-creator Barrie Dunn optioned the rights.
Pictou Twist Pictures and Ion Inc. acquired the film and television rights to the book, which was written by late Canadian author Silver Donald Cameron.
Blood in the Water tells the story of the 2013 murder of Philip Boudreau, a notorious outlaw – equally loved and hated – who was killed while vandalizing the lobster traps of three Cape Breton fishermen.
The book was billed as a “must-read” by Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale
Dunn is the co-creator, writer and producer of Canadian mockumentary series The Trailer Park Boys, which ran for over 100 episodes and spawned a number of feature films. He founded Pictou Twist Pictures with Patrick Graham to focus on political dramas and thrillers, stories of individual and collective struggle, and irreverent comedies. The pair had previously worked together on feature film Afghan Luke starring Nick Stahl.
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The acquisition deal for Blood in the Water was brokered by Hotchkiss Daily and Associates on behalf of the Bukowski Agency and by Sean Barclay of the Gersh Agency on behalf of Pictou Twist Pictures.
“We are delighted to have negotiated a deal with Barrie Dunn and Patrick Graham for the film and TV rights to Blood In The Water,” said Denise Bukowski, Silver Donald’s literary agent. “It is not merely a story of murder for lobster as was portrayed in the media. It’s much more complex than that. Philip Boudreau’s murder was gut-wrenching and you feel incredible sympathy for him. Yet it’s also hard not to empathize with the lobster fishers who killed him.”
“It is a dark, compelling story, but not without its humour,” added Dunn. “Philip Boudreau was a rogue and a rascal, a character not unlike the type we often met and saw portrayed sympathetically in Trailer Park Boys”.
“The story is timeless, almost mythical,” said Graham. “Like Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes, Blood In The Water is really about how a tight knit community deals with an outlaw when the authorities are unwilling or unable to do so.”
