Flying Scoop, the award-winning production company, has secured the film rights to 'Evil on the Roof of the World: A Cycling Trip That Ended in Terror,' a narrative nonfiction book by William Elliott Hazelgrove. The book, published by Bloomsbury on November 13, 2025, tells the heartbreaking true story of Lauren Geoghegan and Jay Austin, two young Americans who left their careers in Washington, D.C. to cycle around the world, only to be murdered by five ISIS terrorists in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan in July 2018.
The announcement marks a significant step in bringing this deeply moving story to a broader audience. Mark Finklepearl, Partner and Executive Producer at Flying Scoop, emphasized the project's importance: 'This story is heartbreaking, courageous, and deeply cinematic. Flying Scoop is honored to partner with William Hazelgrove to bring Lauren and Jay's journey — and their legacy — to the screen.'
Flying Scoop, known for producing hundreds of hours of television for networks like National Geographic, Discovery, and Fox Nation, aims to adapt the book with integrity. Nathaniel Starck, Executive Producer and Director, stated: 'Our goal is to adapt the book with integrity — to show the beauty of Lauren and Jay's journey, as well as the tragedy of their loss. This is more than a true crime story: it's a story about two people who believed in connection and risk, and what their lives meant to everyone who knew them.'
The book, which Hazelgrove reconstructed using the couple's travel blog, social media posts, interviews, and global media coverage, has been praised for its sensitive and deeply researched storytelling. Reviewers have compared it to Jon Krakauer's 'Into the Wild.' The story explores themes of idealism, risk, love, and violence, offering a profound meditation on youthful dreaming and the collision with reality.
Flying Scoop's latest release, 'The Real Hatfields and McCoys Forever Feuding,' was a streaming success, and the company continues to focus on bold, story-driven content. More information about the book and the author can be found at www.williamhazelgrove.com.
