Category Archives: Optioned Books

Japanese Horror Film “Audition” Getting Remade in America

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Kiri-Kiri-Kiri! Audition is getting a reboot for American audiences according to Deadline. The famous film from Takashi Miike was actually based on the 1997 novel by Ryu Murakami of the same name.

In the American retelling, an unlucky widower — named Sam Davis in this version — lives alone with his son when a filmmaker friend tricks him into meeting women under the guise of a movie audition (because nothing says long-lasting love like trickery). Through the auditions, Sam meets Evie Lawrence, a former ballerina with a mysterious dark side. And a mysterious bag.

According to Deadline, what is known about the American remake, it is very close to the Japanese original. The original film has landed on several prominent directors, authors, and actors lists of best horror films for its disturbing content and grisly portrayal the main character’s enjoyment of torture. Will there be severed limbs? We already know the weird burlap bag will be involved somehow so that is promising.

Richard Gray has adapted the script and will be directed the remake. There is no word on when the film will go into production or who the studio is eyeing for the lead roles.

Game of Thrones: Season 5 To Film Partially in Spain

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“Game of Thrones” is still about a year away from premiering its fifth season but HBO has announced that it will add Spain as one the filming locations for the next season. Part of the season will shoot in the Province of Sevilla according to the announcement.

HBO didn’t reveal which part of Westeros that Spain will be representing but is rumored that it will be much awaited country of Dorne. D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, the “Game of Thrones” show runners and executive producers have already confirmed we will be seeing Dorne in season five. Also considering in the novels, Dorne is described as rocky, mountainous, arid, and dry. The Province of Sevilla lays in the Andalusia region which relatively matches that description. 

Season 5 of “Game of Thrones” begins filming in Belfast later this month.

Lois Lowry Comments on “The Giver” Film

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Author Lois Lowry has commented on the big screen adapted of her novel, The Giver. Even further, her comments have been featured on the film’s poster which you can see above. She has given the film just about the highest praise an author can when their work hits the big screen.

The YA novel won the 1994 Newbery Medal, and there are more than 11 million copies in print worldwide, in 21 languages.

“It’s all there. The boy. The old man. The baby. The sled. If you loved the book take my word for it — you’ll love the movie as well,” says Lowry on the poster, which features stars Brenton Thwaites and Odeya Rush.

The sci-fi story is set in a world where each member of society is given a specific role. When 16-year-old Jonas (Thwaites) is selected to be the Receiver of Memory, he begins to uncover the truth behind his seemingly perfect world’s past. The Giver stars Jeff Bridges, Thwaites, Rush and Meryl Streep.

The Giver hits theaters on August 15. It was directed by Phillip Noyce.

CBS Adapting James Patterson’s “Zoo” in 2015

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CBS has officially ordered 13 episodes of a series adaptation of “Zoo.” The television show will be based on the bestselling novel of the same name by James Patterson. “Zoo” was published in 2012 and has sold more than four million copies worldwide.

“Zoo” is a global thriller about a wave of violent animal attacks against humans across the planet. As the assaults become more cunning, coordinated and ferocious, a young renegade biologist is thrust into the race to unlock the pandemic’s mystery before there’s no place left for people to hide.

Jeff Pinkner, Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec and Scott Rosenberg wrote the script and are executive producers with James Mangold, Cathy Konrad, James Patterson, Bill Robinson, Leopoldo Gout and Steve Bowen.

Nina Tassler, Chairman, CBS Entertainment said,

“‘Zoo’ further demonstrates our commitment to high-quality, year-round programming and to high-concept series that play to summer audiences in the U.S. as well as on a global scale. With this #1 bestseller coming to television, we’re excited to give our viewers a thrill ride with another blockbuster summer event.”

“Zoo” is expected to premiere in summer of 2015.

Sarah Polley to Adapt John Green’s “Looking for Alaska”

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Book Award covers.

John Green’s book, “Looking for Alaska,” is currently in talks to be adapted into a film by Sarah Polley. Paramount Pictures would oversee the adaptation which would be produced by Mark Waters and Jessica Tuchinsky via their watermark Pictures banner.

The film rights for the book were first purchased back in 2005. At that point it even has a script that was written by Josh Schwartz but somehow it ended up being lost in the Hollywood oblivion.

But with the incredible box office success of the film adaptation of Green’s novel, The Fault in Our Stars, the studio is now interested in the project once again. Funny how that works isn’t it?

“Looking for Alaska” is inspired by Green’s personal school experiences. It follows a boy who entered boarding school where social classes engage in pranks on one another. Alaska is a female student whom all the boys find beguiling but who is also dangerously reckless.

Polley is a well-known Canadian filmmaker whose works include Away From Her and Take This Waltz. She last made Stories We Tell, the award-winning documentary about her search for the truth behind her family.

She will reportedly also write the script for Alaska.

FX Changing Controversial “The Strain” Billboards After Negative Reaction

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As you can see above, the billboard artwork for the upcoming television series, “The Strain” on FX, is a bit disturbing. Even more so when you realize its several feet hire on the interstate. So, FX has decided to listen to the public with their ridiculous demands and take it down.

“We are in the process of replacing the key art for The Strain on outdoor media in several locations,” a FX spokesman said in a prepared statement.

FX has not announced how they are planning to replace the already paid for ad space.

Among those who have been complaining is Kate Aurthur, a writer for BuzzFeed, says,

“As a parent of small children — not to mention an adult human being who hates worms coming out of eyes — I’m surprised to see this image on public streets. I live in fear of my 4-year-old noticing it (he would cry, literally) and have taken to driving out of my way to avoid places where I know the billboard is…And I am not alone!”

Screenwriter Kristin Smith tweeted,

“Seriously, The Strain? I have to look at your disgusting eyeball billboard when I drive? Are you trying to make me crash and die?”

C’mon people. Stop being ridiculous.

“The Strain” is based on the novel series by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It premiere on FX on July 13.

The First Trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Revealed

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We finally have the first trailer for the upcoming third film installment in the Hunger Games franchise. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 has release a trailer in the form of a PSA from Panem and President Snow.

The PSA shows President Snow in a perfectly white background as he promises peace and unity. Though he hints that those who resist may be presents with a future that is not so peaceful. And just as he’s warning, “If you resist the system, you starve yourself. If you fight against it, it is you who will bleed,” the camera pans to reveal Peeta beside him. Blurgh.

Part one sees Katniss in District 13 after she literally shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta and a nation moved by her courage.

The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Jeffrey Wright, Donald Sutherland, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. 

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 hits theaters on November 21. (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 will release on November 20, 2015). 

You can watch the trailer below.

CBS Films Acquires Film Rights to Trilogy of Atlantis Novels

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The trilogy of “Atlantis” novels by author A.G. Riddle have been optioned for film by CBS Films. The first book in the series is titled “The Atlantis Gene” was self-published in March of 2013.

The novel follows a brilliant geneticist and an international counterterrorism agent who must team up to thwart a global pandemic and solve the greatest mystery of all time: the truth behind the origins of humanity.

The third installment of the series was recently published on May 15, 2014.

The author, A.G. Riddle, is a native of North Carolina, a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and previously spent a decade starting and running internet-centric companies. Riddle was recently ranked #2 in Science Fiction Book authors (including print) on Amazon, behind George R.R. Martin.

There is no word on whether the trilogy will become a film franchise but it is likely. The studio has also not announce when the project will begin production.

Official Trailer for James Franco’s Child of God

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The first official trailer for Child of God has been released via Yahoo! Movies. The film adaptation was helmed by actor James Franco and is based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy. Franco also produces, stars and co-wrote the screenplay with Vince Jolivette.

Child of God stars Tim Blake Nelson, Jim Parrack, Fallon Goodson, Scott Haze, Jeremy Ambler and Jolivett.

The film is about a dispossessed, violent man whose life is a disastrous attempt to exist outside the social order. Successively deprived of parents and homes and with few other ties, Ballard descends literally and figuratively to the level of a cave dweller as he falls deeper into crime and degradation. 

It hits theaters in a limited release on August 1. You can watch the trailer below:

Ready Player One Movie Finally Moving Forward With Zak Penn

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ready-player-one We have been waiting more than four years for the film adaptation of the novel “Ready Player One” to begin production. FINALLY, Warner Bros. and De Line Pictures have begun to move forward according to a report at The Wrap. According to the story, they have hired Zak Penn to adapt the novel written by Ernie Cline. The novel is officially described as follows:

In the near future, outcast teenager Wade Watts escapes from his bleak surroundings by logging in to the OASIS, a globally networked virtual utopia where users can lead idyllic alternate lives. When the eccentric billionaire who created the OASIS dies, he offers up his vast fortune as the prize in an elaborate treasure hunt. Along with gamers from around the world, Wade joins the adventure, and quickly finds himself pitted against powerful corporate foes and other ruthless competitors who will do anything, in the oasis or the real world, to reach the treasure first.

Donald De Line and Dan Farah are set to produce. The adaptation was announced before the novel was even released on shelves.  There is currently no officially word from the studio about a production date or an anticipated release date. No actors are attached at the moment either.