Henry Selick's next?

I'm more than a little excited to see CORALINE in 3-D when it hits theaters next month and I don't think I'm the only one here who'd say that (have you seen JoBlo's NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS collection?). Our own Eric Walkuski got to sit down and talk to CORALINE director Henry Selick after a screening of the movie (lucky bastard!) and while we'll have the full interview closer to the film's release, we did get Mr. Selick to open up about his next film...

As far as directing goes, it looks like his next project will be an adaptation of Philip Pullman's children's book "Count Karlstein." Says Selick:

I have a couple of other things, but the primary one is an older Philip Pullman kids book called COUNT KARLSTEIN. I've got a film story worked out and I'll eventually write a screenplay and start designing.

The story follows an evil Count who has become wealthy and powerful due to a deal with the devil. In exchange for his power, he offers up a human sacrifice. When the devil comes calling, Karlstein offers up his two young nieces but as you might expect, they're not ready to go quietly.

In addition to KARLSTEIN, Selick is also producing a film called PARANORMAN, a zombie comedy from Chris Butler, the storyboard artist on CORALINE and THE CORPSE BRIDE. "I am going to be a producer on... PARANORMAN. It's kind've a funny zombie story. [Chris] is doing a second draft of the screenplay, he has some artists working with him, designing the characters - that's the first order of business, is to get that project up on its feet and going."

That film follows a 13-year-old named Norman who's the only chance a small town has to survive a zombie uprising. It's not clear if the film will be CGI or stop-motion animated but it is set up at Laika, the same animation house that produced CORALINE.

Stay tuned for more from Henry Selick and CORALINE as the release date approaches!

Source: JoBlo.com

Extra Tidbit: Philip Pullman's last novel to make it to the big screen was the disappointing GOLDEN COMPASS.