Nothing in the near future will stop the Young Adult Lit acquisition train. This summer sees the first in a possible trilogy, with the film adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s book The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones opening on August 23rd. And just in case it’s a hit, her prequel series, The Infernal Devices, has also been optioned. Is that all Cassandra Clare is up to? No, of course not. She is collaborating with another YA author, Holly Black (co-author of The Spiderwick Chronicles) on a five book series. The first title in the series, The Iron Trail, is set for a fall 2014 release… and has already been optioned.
It seems that Ridley Scott always has three or four possible projects in the pipeline as either a director or producer. One of those is an adaptation of Hugh Howey’s novel WOOL, which is set in a subterranean city in a post-apocalyptic future. The book has a story worthy of film by itself. It began with a short story published through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing service and over time his sales and fan base increased to the point where he now has signed a deal with Simon and Schuster to distribute Wool in the US and Canada.
It may be a while before this project moves forward, but if Sir Ridley Scott sees potential in the story, it may be worth delving into.
Hugh Jackman has been attached to an adaptation of Harlan Coben’s most recent novel Six Years. The summary of the book provided on the author’s website states:
Jake Fisher finds the love of his life, Natalie, and imagines their future together as husband and wife. Instead, she dumps him and a few days later then invites him to her wedding to a man she just met. Jake watches Natalie take her vows, and she tells him to leave her alone forever. For six years, he keeps that promise. But when he sees Natalie’s husband’s obituary, Jake decides to attend the funeral and comfort Natalie. He is stunned to discover that the man’s widow is not Natalie and that the church where he watched her marry has no record of the ceremony.
The book just recently hit the shelves, so you’ve got plenty of time to read this one before they start production on the film.
I’ll continue to keep our readers updated on the latest news of books being optioned and adapted into films. Over on facebook Pete shared this link for a great resource for Stephen King fans, or for those of you that have just dipped a toe into the pool and would like some assistance in navigating the vast world he has created.
Until I have more to share about book news here’s one last YA novel adapted into a film. Stay gold, Ponyboy