A few days ago, Publishers Weekly ran an article by Shannon Maughan (The Kids Stay In The Picture) which focused on the fact that the trend of producing family films based on children’s books is on the rise (the Harry Potter films being a prime example). The article covers a lot of ground, but there is one specific area that is of interest to Redwallers (emphasis mine):
The Gotham Group, an agency in L.A. that represents a varied roster of family entertainment talent as well as Simon & Schuster’s children’s catalogue and backlist for film rights, keeps an eye out for “books that can be big animated motion pictures or books that can be family films ranging from Holes to Harry Potter,” according to Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Gotham’s founder and president. In recent months Gotham’s Julie Kane-Ritsch has noticed that “studios and producers are more open to book projects for animation.” A bulging roster of active projects at Gotham includes a big-screen adaptation of Brian Jacques’s Redwall series with Andrew Marlowe (Air Force One) working on a screenplay (Nelvana holds the rights), and a feature film development for the Frannie K. Stein, Mad Scientist book series by James Benton (S&S).
I am currently tracking down the specifics of this deal. The fact that a name is already attached to a screenplay is heartening and could suggest that it’s only a matter of time before we see Redwall in theatres.
Andrew Marlowe’s past credits include Hollow Man (screenplay & story), End of Days (writer), Air Force One (writer), and two episodes of the 1994 television series Viper (as co-writer). He is, perhaps, an odd choice for tackling the adaptation of Redwall, but we should reserve judgment until we see what he can do.
Stay tuned to The Newsline for more details.
Leave a Reply