State of Terror, the political thriller from former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny, has been acquired by Gigi Pritzker’s Madison Wells for a feature adaptation.
The New York Times bestselling book follows Ellen Adams, the newly sworn-in Secretary of State who was chosen by her onetime political rival and current President of the United States. Conflict unravels during a series of apparent terrorist attacks.
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The summary of the book reads: “As the horrifying scale of the threat becomes clear, Secretary Adams and her team realize it has been carefully planned to take advantage of four years of an American government out of touch with international affairs, out of practice with diplomacy, and out of influence in the places where it counts the most. To defeat such an intricate, carefully constructed conspiracy, it will take the skills of a unique team: a passionate young FSO; a dedicated journalist; and a smart, determined, but as yet untested new secretary of state.”
Pritzker and Rachel Shane will produce for Madison Wells, which most recently released Jessica Chastain-starrer The Eyes of Tammy Faye. HiddenLight Productions, the banner founded by Clinton, Sam Branson, and Chelsea Clinton, will also produce. Clinton and Penny will serve as executive producers.
“I am thrilled that my production company, HiddenLight, and I will be working with Madison Wells on this project. It’s particularly exciting to be collaborating with such a talented team of women and we couldn’t be more excited to see this story come to life,” said Clinton in a statement.
Added Penny: “Just when I thought co-writing State of Terror with my amazing friend Hillary could not get more exhilarating, along comes the remarkable opportunity to work with Gigi and Rachel at Madison Wells. Talk about badass women!”
“I have been a fan of this genre of literature my whole life and once I got my hands on this book, I couldn’t put it down. We rarely have the opportunity to see women as the main characters in a complex international thriller like this,” said Pritzker.
HiddenLight, repped by WME, is currently in production on the Apple docuseries Gutsy Women, based on The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience from the Clintons.
Clinton is represented by Williams & Connolly and Johnson Shapiro. Penny is repped by WME, the Gernert Company, and DeBlase Brown.
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