Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” is getting a movie adaptation, Vulture reports. The project, helmed by film and TV company A24, was announced through the A24 podcast Monday.
According to Vulture, Vuong joined author Bryan Washington for the announcement and afterwards discussed writing and publishing during the coronavirus pandemic as well as the journey in transforming a book into a different medium.
“I’m really happy that A24’s doing it,” Vuong said in the A24 podcast. “They’ve embodied the book at its core… It was about an earnest attempt to make an interpretation that expanded and enriched the book, but stood as a separate entity.”
Vuong, a MacArthur Foundation ‘genius,’ debuted into the literary world with his poetry collection, “Night Sky with Exit Wounds” in 2016. According to the Los Angeles Times, Vuong is comfortable with both poetry and prose and calls the two mediums different “conductors of energy.”
“I’m more interested in propelling the same energy through the different types of conductors and seeing what gets transmitted,” Vuong said.
“On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” debuted last June and was named one of 2019’s top 10 books by the Washington Post, Variety reports. The book also landed the No. 6 spot on the New York Times’ best-seller list.
According to Variety, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” tells the story of Little Dog, a gay first-generation Vietnamese American living in Connecticut. The book also delves into the lives of Little Dog’s mother, Lan, and grandmother, Hong, as well as the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
“I’m not interested in a story about good and evil around that war. Lord knows that any time you lose 4 million-plus people and 60,000 American soldiers, nobody wins,” Vuong said, Los Angeles Times reports. “I was interested in detecting the legacy of human violence, and the nonsensical, absurdist rationale around it.”
Listen to the full A24 podcast here.
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our new Instagram account. Go to our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story.
