Jonathan Bailey and Bill Nighy Set for Love Story 'Insomniac City'

Jonathan Bailey and Bill Nighy are set to star in Insomniac City, a love story about two very different men, according to Deadline. Dominic Cooke is directing the film.

The story is built around writer and photographer Bill Hayes and neurologist Oliver Sacks. Bailey will play Hayes, and Nighy will play Sacks. The film is adapted from Hayes's 2017 memoir of the same name.

Hayes co-wrote the screenplay with Cooke, who also adapted it for the screen. That means the person who lived the story has had a hand in shaping how it reaches the screen.

The film is being produced by Troy Lum and Andrew Mason for Brouhaha Entertainment. Bailey, Mike Goodridge and Gabrielle Tana are also listed as producers. Will Clarke, Andy Mason and Mike Runagall are executive producers through Altitude.

Altitude is handling worldwide sales for the film. A sales company sells the rights to a finished or nearly finished film to cinemas and streaming services, one territory at a time, so that audiences in many countries can eventually see it. Altitude will present Insomniac City to buyers at the American Film Market, the trade event where distributors look for films to acquire.

For many readers, the most useful way to think about this news is as the first public step in a long chain. Before any ticket is sold, the people involved must agree on a script, a cast, a budget and a team of producers. Each of those names is a decision, and this announcement puts several of them on the record at once.

Nothing has yet been said about when Insomniac City will open or where it will be shown.