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David Sedaris essay will become a film

The film adaptation of the David Sedaris essay 'C.O.G.' is slated to start production this October.

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Anne Fishbein/Little, Brown and Company
Writer David Sedaris has never before given permission for his essays to be adapted into film.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Essay titan David Sedaris will see one of his short pieces adapted for the big screen, with production on the film set to begin this October.

The essay titled “C.O.G” (Child of God) by Sedaris is slated to become a film from Kyle Patrick Alvarez, who previously wrote and directed the 2009 film “Easier with Practice.”

“C.O.G.” follows Sedaris and an acquaintance working at a fair to sell pieces of rock in the shape of the state of Oregon.

“I always thought there was something cinematic about this story," Alvarez told IndieWire. "So after I finished 'Easier With Practice,' I started pursuing it. But everyone was like 'No, no, thanks for trying.’”

Alvarez attended one of Sedaris’s book signings and gave the author a copy of his film. Sedaris e-mailed Alvarez, saying the movie had intrigued him and asking why he thought “C.O.G.” should be a movie. Alvarez said he stayed up all night crafting a six-page e-mail in reply and that he thinks part of why Sedaris agreed to adapt the story is that Sedaris’s family don’t make appearances in the essay.

“[Sedaris] has been incredibly gracious and supportive,” Alvarez said of the development period of the film.

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