Number 9 Films & Rachael Horovitz’ West Fourth Films Acquire Sought-After Rights To PUNK LEGEND VIV ALBERTINE’S MEMOIRS

PRODUCERS ELIZABETH KARLSEN, STEPHEN WOOLLEY AND RACHAEL HOROVITZ ACQUIRE SOUGHT-AFTER RIGHTS TO CELEBRATED PUNK LEGEND VIV ALBERTINE’S MEMOIRS AFTER INDUSTRY BIDDING WAR

PRODUCERS TO SHOWCASE ALBERTINE’S FASCINATING LIFE STORY AND DEFINING ROLE IN THE ‘70s PUNK MOVEMENT FOR LIMITED TV SERIES

Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley’s Number 9 Films and Rachael Horovitz’ West Fourth Films have acquired the much sought-after television rights to the popular and critically acclaimed memoirs of legendary punk musician Viv Albertine, it was announced today.

Albertine has released two revealing and fearless memoirs detailing her upbringing in the ‘70s and rise in punk music as guitarist for all-girl band The Slits (1977-1982) at the height of the male-dominated punk rock music scene.  Albertine was amongst the first "inner circle" fans of the Sex Pistols, and was a close friend of both Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of The Clash. In 1976, she helped form The Flowers of Romance with Sid Vicious and Susie Souix.

The first, Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. was published in 2014 and was a Sunday Times Music, Mojo, Rough Trade and NME Book of the Year.

The second, a more personal autobiography delving into her family life and relationships, To Throw Away Unopened, was published in 2018 and was shortlisted for the Costa Book of the Year Awards and longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize.

Upon the release of both memoirs, Albertine has been courted by major producers for several years to obtain the rights to her fascinating life story, but has never agreed until now.

Number 9 Films’ Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley (COLETTE, CAROL, CRYING GAME) and Horovitz (“Patrick Melrose,” MONEYBALL) will develop and adapt the material for a limited television series.

Viv Albertine said “I’m so happy that Rachael, Elizabeth and Stephen are bringing my books to the screen! Right from the start they were sensitive to the extremely personal nature of the work and I knew the books were in the hands of producers with integrity. Their vision is perfectly in tune with the work, they understand the subject and the times, I can’t wait for the project to get started and to see all the characters in my story come to life!”

Producers Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley and Rachael Horovitz said “What an exciting and exhilarating prospect to re-explore a time when music, fashion, political ideologies and sexuality were turned on their heads. So beautifully evoked alongside personal insights and frank reflections of an extraordinary woman’s life in Albertine’s two incredible memoirs.

Nothing that has happened before or since can match the explosion that was 70s London Punk, and Viv Albertine helped pack the dynamite, place the detonator and light the fuse. The Slits forged the soundtrack to a gender-bending, iconic cultural revolution and guitarist Viv Albertine was right in the thick of it. She helped create an uninhibited new attitude, a unique musical language and a DIY aesthetic that invaded and ingrained itself into the mainstream.

Albertine's memoirs and our show are a narrative of brave and sheer joyous rebellion. The story of a working-class girl fighting for a place and voice in a restrictive world, Viv’s story is a kaleidoscope of painful truth and witty honesty that will resonate with everyone who’s lived a life, and today’s music loving, boundary-breaking generation."

Viv Albertine is an accomplished singer, songwriter, musician, filmmaker and author who is best-known as the guitarist for The Slits. The group’s debut album Cut, released in 1979, is still regarded as one of the best albums of all time, having been included in The Observer’s Greatest British Albums of All Time. Kurt Cobain declared Typical Girls one of his 50 favourite recordings of all time. The band toured with The Clash several times and released their second studio album, Return of the Giant Slits in 1981 before breaking up in 1982. Albertine released her own solo album, The Vermillion Border, in 2012.

In addition to writing, she has also pursued filmmaking, having written and directed the short film COPING WITH CUPID in 1991. Albertine has collaborated with filmmaker Joanna Hogg on several occasions, completing the soundtrack for her film ARCHIPELAGO as well as starring in EXHIBITION.

About Number 9 Films
Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen co-founded Number 9 Films in 2002, and were the recipients for the 2019 BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema.

Their joint and individual credits include COLETTE (2019), THEIR FINEST (2016), CAROL (2015), YOUTH (2015), LIMEHOUSE GOLEM (2016), BYZANTIUM (2012), MADE IN DAGENHAM (2010), LADIES IN LAVENDER (2004), THE END OF THE AFFAIR (1999), LITTLE VOICE (1998), MICHAEL COLLINS (1996), INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE (1994), BACKBEAT (1994), THE CRYING GAME (1992), SCANDAL (1989), MONA LISA (1986), and THE COMPANY OF WOLVES (1984). Their films have received over 100 BAFTA, Oscar^®, Golden Globe^®, Emmy^® and PGA awards and nominations.

The company is currently gearing up for production on MOTHERING SUNDAY, set to star Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Josh O’Connor, Odessa Young and Sope Dirisu which is shooting at the end of September.

About West Fourth Films
Rachael Horovitz returned to independent producing in 2003 after more than fifteen years as an executive.

She has produced an array of films for the big screen including the six-time Oscar^® nominated MONEYBALL starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill and ABOUT SCHMIDT which won 2 Golden Globes^® including Best Screenplay and Best Performance by an Actor for Jack Nicholson.

On the small screen, she most recently executive-produced Showtime/Sky’s award-winning mini-series “Patrick Melrose” starring Benedict Cumberbatch.  The series received widespread critical acclaim, and won four BAFTA TV Awards including Best Mini-Series and Best Actor for Cumberbatch.  The series was further nominated for five Emmys^® including Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Lead Actor, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Casting for a Limited Series. 

Other television projects include HBO’s “Grey Gardens,” for which Horovitz won the Emmy^® and the Golden Globe^®, and the upcoming crime series “A Wilderness of Error,” premiering on FX in September.