Netflix has announced today it has landed the rights to turn Japanese writer Kōtarō Isaka’s novel Seesaw Monster into a feature film. Although the streaming giant is keeping details about the upcoming film under wraps, Seesaw Monster is set to star Anne Hathaway and Salma Hayek Pinault as rivals forced to work together in an action comedy.
Isaka is a renowned author of mystery fiction, with multiple books adapted to film in Japan and worldwide. More recently, Isaka’s second novel in his Hitman trilogy was turned into the hit blockbuster Bullet Train, starring an all-star cast including Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock. Bullet Train’s success proves the moment is ripe for exploring Isaka’s literary work, and with Seesaw Monster, Netflix gets ahead of the game.
While it is still early to know how Netflix will adapt the novel, Seesaw Monster follows a woman who questions her mother-in-law's mysterious past and discovers secrets that threaten to shake her family. The two women, usually ready to jump at each other’s throats, are also forced to work together when that mysterious past puts both of her lives at risk. It’s the perfect frame for an action-comedy, and with the star power Hathaway and Hayek bring to the project, Seesaw Monster is bound to become yet another Netflix success.
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Anne Hathaway and Salma Hayek Pinault Career
Hathaway had her breakout role in Disney’s The Princess Diaries. Since then, she has become of the top actresses in Hollywood, scoring dozens of awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Notable movies of Hathaway’s career also include The Devil Wears Prada, The Dark Knight Rises, and Ocean’s 8.
As for Hayek, the actress is a legend who started acting in Mexico, before establishing herself in Hollywood with movies such as Desperado and From Dusk till Dawn. Hayek is also the first Mexican actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress after Frida, a biopic that focuses on the life and work of painter Frida Kahlo. More recently, Hayek also showed up in Marvel Studios’ Eternals.
Hathaway and Hayek are also attached as producers of Seesaw Monster, alongside Akiva Goldsman, Gregory Lessans, Ryosuke Saegusa, and Yuma Terada. The script is being written by Olivia Milch, who previously wrote Ocean’s 8. Executive producers include Jose Tamez and Siobhan Flynn for Ventanarosa Productions, Adam Shulman and Jonathan Rice for Somewhere Pictures, and Milch.
There’s still no release date for Seesaw Monster, as the movie is still in early production. Check out our interview with Hayek and Angelina Jolie about their roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.