A24 announced last week that it’s adapting “London Falling,” Patrick Radden Keefe’s forthcoming nonfiction book about the death of a London teenager whose parents later discovered he had been living a double life. 

The book, the full title of which is “London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for Truth,” began as an article in The New Yorker. In 2024, Keefe penned the story of Zac Brettler, a 19-year-old who died in 2019 when he plummeted from the fifth story of an apartment building into the Thames River. 

After his death, his family learned that he had told a known London gangster that he was the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch who stood to inherit millions. And so the mystery unfolds—did Brettler jump from the balcony, or was he pushed? 

“London Falling” isn’t the first story to start off as a news article before jumping to book and screen. Here are four other pieces of journalism that took the leap:

‘She Said’

The 2022 film “She Said” was based upon the nonfiction book of the same name by reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. Together, their reporting at The New York Times exposed decades of sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein and the film industry’s efforts to cover up that abuse. 

Zoe Kazan stars at Kantor and Carey Mulligan portrays Twohey in the film, which documents the work the two did to investigate the allegations and interview a slew of women afraid of coming forward with their experiences. 

Ashley Judd plays herself in the film. She was vocal in her accusations against Weinstein and, along with others, inspired the #MeToo movement, which encouraged people to come forward about their experiences with abuse. 

Weinstein ultimately was convicted on sexual misconduct and rape charges in separate cases in Los Angeles and New York. 

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

The critically acclaimed “Killers of the Flower Moon” starring the powerhouse trio of Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone, was based on another New Yorker article later turned into a book. The book, “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” by David Grann was inspired by an article he wrote in 2017.

The article told of a plot by white Americans to kill members of the Osage tribe in Oklahoma to gain access to their lucrative oil rights. Officially, about 20 people were killed in the plot, but Grann reported that the figure could be many times higher. 

Martin Scorsese wrote and directed an adaptation of Grann’s book, focusing specifically on the relationship between a white World War I veteran, Ernest (DiCaprio), and Mollie (Gladstone), an Osage whose family is wealthy from the oil headrights. Ernest’s uncle pressures him to kill members of Mollie’s family so she can inherit a bigger piece of her family’s fortune. 

‘The Good Nurse’

Reporting by journalist and author Charles Graeber told the story of Charles Cullen (played by Eddie Redmayne), a nurse who was later convicted of killing dozens of patients. Cullen hopped from hospital to hospital over the course of his career, allowing him to hide from authorities until 2003. 

Graeber’s book, “The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder,” detailed how a fellow nurse, Amy Loughren, played by Jessica Chastain in the movie, helped investigators bring Cullen to justice. Loughren feigned friendship with Cullen to get close to him and learn details about the murders. 

Filmmaker Tobias Lindholm and screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns adapted Graeber’s book for a 2022 film streamed by Netflix. 

All the President’s Men

And finally, perhaps the most iconic piece of journalism-turned-movie was “All the President’s Men,” which was the subject of our first installment of Page to Oscar last week. The film offered a behind-the-scenes look at how Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein investigated and reported on the Watergate scandal. 

Woodward and Bernstein wrote their book of the same name based on their original reporting, which was instrumental in exposing President Richard Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal, ultimately leading to his impeachment. 

The 1976 movie starred Hollywood legends Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.

About the writer

Danielle Haynes is the co-founder and co-editor of Booked & Screened, covering book-to-screen adaptations, film and TV development. As a journalist she loves a good true crime book based on investigative journalism—but she’s also a little jealous.