Former Focus Features CEO James Schamus will make his directorial debut with “Indignation,” his adaptation of a Philip Roth novel of the same name, Schamus and producer Anthony Bregman announced Wednesday.
The film is set in 1951, and follows a young Jewish man from Newark studying at a small, conservative college in Ohio, where he himself at odds with the administration, grapples with anti-Semitism and sexual repression, and pines after a troubled girl.
Avy Eschenasy and Stefanie Azpiazu will serve as executive producers for production company Likely Story.
The film will start shooting this summer in New York.
While Schamus oversaw Focus for years, he has written a number of memorable titles, including Ang Lee‘s critically-acclaimed 1997 drama “The Ice Storm,” as well as Oscar-winning martial arts movie, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Most recently, Schamus wrote a draft of Pierce Brosnan fantasy “The Moon and the Sun.”
“Marcus Messner is an extraordinary character, heartbreakingly open and alive, and Anthony Bregman is an extraordinary producer, heartstoppingly economical,” Schamus said in a statement. “Bringing them together for my first feature as a director is as felicitous a match as I could ever hope for.”