Jonathan Bailey and Bill Nighy Lead ‘Insomniac City’ Adaptation

By Tom Whitfield

Jonathan Bailey will play Bill Hayes opposite Bill Nighy as Oliver Sacks in Dominic Cooke’s “Insomniac City,” adapted from Hayes’s 2017 memoir of the same name. Altitude is handling worldwide sales and will introduce the project to buyers at AFM.

The announcement discloses no production start, release date or sale price. The casting therefore advances the film without establishing when cameras will roll.

“Insomniac City” is a gay romance drawn from the real-life relationship between writer and photographer Bill Hayes and neurologist Oliver Sacks. The film follows Hayes as he arrives in New York City from San Francisco after a devastating loss. As he rebuilds his life, he falls for both the city and Sacks, according to the synopsis.

Bailey will play Hayes and Nighy will play Sacks. The project says their romance transformed both men during Sacks’s final years. The announcement also describes the part as another lead role for Bailey.

The project description says:

“Set against the restless, vibrant backdrop of New York City, ‘Insomniac City’ is an intimate and uplifting portrait of grief, hope, community and second chances, and of the remarkable possibility of finding love when it is least expected.”

That passage offers the film’s proposed scope, but the announcement supplies no production detail against which to test it.

The New York Times described Sacks as the “poet laureate of contemporary medicine.” The project says his writing and groundbreaking work in neurology made him one of the most distinctive voices in modern medicine. It also says Sacks was celebrated for the humanity and curiosity he brought to his work.

Sacks wrote “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” and “Awakenings.” The announcement notes that “Awakenings” was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, without specifying a nomination category. “Insomniac City” is a separate adaptation, sourced in Hayes’s memoir.

Hayes and Cooke co-wrote and adapted the big-screen version. Troy Lum and Andrew Mason are producers for their UK-Australian outfit, Brouhaha Entertainment. The producer list also includes Bailey, Mike Goodridge and Gabrielle Tana, identified with “Elsinore.” Will Clarke, Andy Mason and Mike Runagall are executive producers via Altitude.

The announcement lists Independent Talent in the U.K., UTA and Public Eye Communications for Nighy. Bailey is represented by CAA, Anonymous Content and Conway Van Gelder Grant.

What does the casting change for audiences?

For audiences, the practical answer is narrow: Bailey and Nighy are attached to the central roles, but the film still has no disclosed filming or release date. The credits identify Hayes and Cooke as co-writers and adapters, and Altitude will introduce the project to buyers at AFM. No disclosed terms establish financing, a production timetable or distribution.

The named pairing gives buyers a defined cast, while the memoir supplies a real-life premise. Whether that package reaches a screen remains dependent on sales and production decisions not yet stated. The next concrete test comes at AFM, where Altitude will introduce a film still without a disclosed production or release timetable.