The novelist is working on a screenplay about Virginia’s Norfolk Four. “It’s the most egregious case of wrongful conviction I’ve seen, and I travel around the country listening to stories about these cases,” Grisham says. He expects to have a draft finished by the fall, but for now he is writing it on spec. Tom Wells and Richard Leo published a book on the case, THE WRONG GUYS: Murder, False Confessions, and the Norfolk Four, last November with the New Press. Grisham said he hoped the project would help the three imprisoned sailors. “You can’t forget about those guys. I’m […]
Film/TV
Random UK Children's Creates Joint Venture to Develop Film/TV Properties
Random House UK’s Children’s Book division has created a new joint-venture in partnership with Komixx Entertainment to produce animated and live-action children’s and family films and TV programs. Called Random House Children’s Screen Entertainment, they will develop the publisher’s books and characters, and plan to include both film and TV partners as well as video game producers, toy manufacturers and other merchandisers. Fiona Macmillan will lead the venture for Random House, and advisor and minority shareholder Catherine Robins is joining the management of the new entity. Random UK Children’s managing director Philippa Dickinson says “it marks a huge step forward […]
Overall Ludlum Deal at Universal
Universal Pictures will build on their Bourne adventures franchise with an overall deal with the Robert Ludlum estate, acquiring exclusive rights to the Bourne character and a first look at all other Ludlum deals not under option elsewhere. Over 25 Ludlum novels have not been developed into movies, and the estate retains contractual approval over screenplays and actors. Henry Morrison and ICM represented the estate in the deal. The Matarese Circle is already controlled by MGM and Relativity, Paramount bought The Chancellor Manuscript, and Summit Entertainment has The Osterman Weekend, while Universal is developing The Sigma Protocol under a separate […]
Coming Attractions: Coraline Film's Stop-Motion
USA Today gives an early boost to the film version of Neil Gaiman’s CORALINE, set for release on February 6: “As seen in Henry Selick’s 3-D stop-motion fantasy Coraline, this blue-haired heroine’s adventures in a strange, unsettling parallel universe rival those experienced by Lewis Carroll’s goldilocked girl explorer…. In this era of digitized animated features, when paper and pencils are as scarce as non-talking animal sidekicks, it’s nice to know one of the genre’s premier purveyors is sticking to his old-fashioned aesthetic principles. Although Coraline has been filmed in 3-D, the surreal fantasy is primarily brought to life through Selick’s […]
Meryl Streep to Play Dewey Author
A film version of Vicki Myron’s bestselling DEWEY: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World will feature Meryl Streep as the author. Producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey at Temple Hill Entertainment partners will make the move with New Line. (The production company is also responsible for the movie adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s Twlight.)Variety
Kidman and Theron In Ebershoff Adaptation
Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron will star in the fi;m adaptation of David Ebershoff 2000 novel THE DANISH GIRL. Kidman will play artist Einar Wegener, “the world’s first postop male transsexual, with Theron playing Wegener’s artist wife, Gerda.E online