Nicholas Sparks’s new novel, for publication in fall 2009, is being written simultaneously with the author’s own adaptation of that story as a starring vehicle for Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus (Offspring Entertainment is producing, for Walt Disney Pictures). Sparks had pitched “a premise for a novel that intrigued Cyrus, her family and the producers,” Variety says, though no details are being shared. Sparks says, “This is similar to the way it’s gone with movies based on my novels; it’s just out of order. Certain opportunities garner your interest, and this was one of those.”Variety
Film/TV
Film Before Book: An Unusual Take
It’s a long story but here’s the gist: Author Scott Campbell’s book was adapted for film by Oscar-winning German director Caroline Link and debuted at the Toronto Film Festival as “Im Winter ein Jahr” (A Year Ago in Winter)” but the manuscript–finished in 2004–never found a publisher. The Boston Globe says “when the film, which is still seeking American distribution, was over, the audience enthusiastically applauded.” Campbell “wrote it after a friend of his, a painter, told him about his experience doing a portrait for a family whose son had died suddenly. They wanted him to put the surviving daughter […]
Either Way, Tintin Gets a Top Director
Brussels’ Herge Studios caused a bit of confusion yesterday in announcing that Peter Jackson would direct the first film in a planned Tintin trilogy for Dreamworks. A representative for Steven Spielberg says that he still intends to direct the film, and a representative for Jackson agrees. Jackson will be a producer on the first film film and intends to direct the second one; first he has to complete Lovely Bones (in post-production) and write scripts for the two Hobbit movies. The first Tintin is based on two books, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure, with a screenplay […]
Faulks Bond Novel Won't Be on Screens Anytime Soon
Eon Productions, the UK-based company behind the 22 James Bond movies, has passed on adapting Sebastian Faulks’ new Bond novel Devil May Care for film. “We love the book, but because it is set in the 1960s, we haven’t considered making it in the near future,” said Eon heads Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. But, as Variety reports, Eon’s move doesn’t suddenly leave one of the film world’s most profitable characters available to Hollywood’s franchise-seekers because its parent company Danjaq has controlled the copyrights and trademarks to the franchise for films since the 1950s, locking out anyone else from […]
'Twilight' Movie Pushed Up to November 21
With the film version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince pushed back from a Thanksgiving release to July 2009, a new release date opened up for the adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, which will be pushed up to November 21.Newsday
Fox's "Watchmen" Lawsuit Carries On
A judge has denied a Warner Bros. motion to dismiss 20th Century Fox’s lawsuit over Warners’ right to make a film based on the graphic novel “Watchmen” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The ruling keeps alive the possibility Fox may share in the profits for the film, slated for release in March 2009, though the studio really wants the project to be cancelled outright. “When you have copyright infringement, there are some damages you never recover,” a source close to the litigation told Variety. At the heart of Fox’s suit, filed in February, is the contention that it never […]