Searchlight Wins Rights To A.C. Robinson Short Story “Grand Rising” In Competitive Situation; Lena Waithe Adapting Script With Steven Caple Jr. Directing

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Searchlight has secured the rights to “Grand Rising,” a short story from A.C. Robinson marking the first high-profile package sale of the year, which has Emmy winner Lena Waithe (Queen & Slim) attached to adapt and director Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) on board to helm. 

Described as a psychological horror-thriller, pic’s logline is being kept under wraps.

Waithe will produce for Hillman Grad, alongside Caple Jr. for Grey Skies Pictures, and Scott Glassgold for 12:01 Films. Jeannette Francis will exec produce for Grey Skies Pictures. SVP of Production Rayne Roberts and Creative Executive Cameron Chidsey are overseeing the project for Searchlight Pictures, reporting to Heads of Production and Development DanTram Nguyen and Katie Goodson-Thomas.

In a statement to Deadline, writer Waithe said, “A.C.’s short story is funny, timely, and soul stirring. I am beyond grateful to work with Steven Caple Jr., Scott Glassgold and Searchlight Pictures to bring this psychological thriller to life.”

Caple Jr. said that Robinson “has crafted something that’s both deeply intimate and genuinely unsettling. It’s new territory for me as a director, and working with Lena and Searchlight to bring this family’s story to the screen is the kind of creative challenge that excites me most.”

Launched just one year ago, Caple’s Grey Skies is currently producing Netflix’s upcoming Man on Fire series, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, as well as developing I Am Legend 2 for Warner Bros., which is set to star Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan. The company is also developing and producing Thieves’ Gambit for Lionsgate and Ghost Fleet for Paramount, where Grey Skies has a first-look deal, with Jeannette Francis producing for the company. Caple Jr. most recently directed the pilot block for Man on Fire and serves as a series executive producer. Prior to that, he directed Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the seventh film in the Transformers franchise, which grossed $439m worldwide, as well as Creed II, which grossed $214m worldwide, breaking out at Sundance with his 2016 debut feature, The Land. He is represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.

Waithe is an Emmy-winning writer, producer, and actor known for her work on Master of None, The Chi, and Queen & Slim. Recent producorial credits include the Emmy-nominated documentary Being Mary Tyler Moore, the 2023 Sundance films A Thousand and One and Kokomo City, as well the Tony-nominated play, Ain’t No Mo’. In November 2024, Waithe launched Legacy Talk, a podcast series billed as a love letter to Black storytellers in entertainment. Currently, she is preparing to make her playwriting and theatrical acting debut with trinity at Baltimore Center Stage in February, as we first reported. She is represented by Blue Marble Management and WME.

Robinson planted her literary flag with her debut novel, Hardly Strangers, after a successful run in the magazine world. Notably, she’s also fleshed out Grand Rising as a novel, which will be published through the Simon & Schuster / Atria imprint and 12:01 Books, a joint venture between Emily Bestler and Glassgold. The scribe is repped by Verve and Andre Des Rochers.

The sale of Grand Rising continues a hot streak for Glassgold and his 12:01 Films which ran straight through 2025. Some high-profile films he set up this past year included Code Black at Amazon with Jake Gyllenhaal, The Operator at Netflix with Mark Wahlberg, Ripped at 20th Century Studios with Dwayne Johnson, Temple Hill exec John Fischer’s Black List spec Crush at 20th, After Shock at Lionsgate with Brandon Sklenar, Drift at Paramount with Andy Muschietti, and The Earthling at Sony with Final Destinations: Bloodlines helmers Zach Lipovsky & Adam Stein. Up next for Glassgold is Drew Hancock’s adaptation of Harrison and Matt Query’’s book, My Wife and I Bought a Ranch, for Amazon. He is repped by Verve and Jeff Frankel.