Netflix to adapt Gary Paulsen's novel 'Hatchet' into film. Netflix is developing a film adaptation of Gary Paulsen's 1987 Newbery Medal-winning novel 'Hatchet.' Director Derek Cianfrance will write and direct the project, produced by Andrew Mittman. The story follows a 13-year-old stranded in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. Paulsen's estate, long protective of the IP, partnered in selecting Cianfrance.