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<em>Blackfish</em> Team Tackles NYC Rats For Next Doc
By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 8, 2014
Modified Sep 8, 2014
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 8, 2014
Modified Sep 8, 2014
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The creators of Blackfish and The Cove will be making New York City's rats the stars of their next project, which will be based on Robert Sullivan's Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants. The news was announced at the Toronto Film Festival last night.
The feature-length doc will go into production early next year, according to The Hollywood Reporter—they also note that Sullivan will be "serving as an advisor on the film [and] will share his extensive archive of research materials that didn't make it into the book." Sullivan stated, "I myself am getting ready to travel deep into what a city is and how we think about ourselves as creatures, among other things."
For those who didn't read his 2005 bestseller on our city's rat population, it follows Sullivan's year-long investigation into a rat-infested alley near Wall Street. The rats' co-stars include exterminators, sanitation workers, and "the agitators and activists who have played their part in the centuries-old war between human city dweller and wild city rat. Sullivan looks deep into the largely unrecorded history of the city and its masses-its herds-of-rats-like mob."
The team (which includes David Koh and Stanley Buchthal of Dakota Group and Josh and Dan Braun of Submarine), said, "We have been obsessed and terrified by rats living in New York City over the years, and when we read Robert Sullivan's book, we couldn't put it down. We look forward to collaborating with (Sullivan) and bringing his highly entertaining and scholarly book to the big screen."
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documentary
rats
Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants
robert sullivan
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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