Once upon a time Neil Gaiman’s dark and twisted children’s tale THE GRAVEYARD BOOK was all set to be adapted to the big screen, with Neil Jordon (INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE) attached to direct. But that was a long time ago, and according to Gaiman, the project is dead in the water… at Miramax, at least.
Gaiman spoke out about the shenanigans regarding THE GRAVEYARD BOOK’s film adaptation to The L.A. Times. Here’s a snippet of what he had to say: It was all put together over at Miramax Films. The people there had a long, great relationship with Neil Jordan and it was all set up and ready to go, and then Miramax was more or less erased from existence. It became a filing cabinet in somebody’s desk, more or less… But it looks like almost all the pieces are on the table again. They have a studio, they have a distributor and they are putting stuff together and I’m not allowed to say anything else.
Always in secrecy mode, meaning the project is likely very close to being made. But who’s the studio, and when’s it going to happen–those are the questions. Either way, awesome stuff. While I haven’t read THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, it’s quite popular with the 9-12 year old crowd, which is crazy considering the book’s dark subject matter. Check out the almost lengthy synopsis:
A family is stabbed to death by “a man named Jack” –the sole survivor of the attack–an 18-month-old baby–escapes his crib and his house, and toddles to a nearby graveyard. Quickly recognizing that the baby is orphaned, the graveyard’s ghostly residents adopt him, name him Nobody (“Bod”), and allow him to live in their tomb. In serial-like episodes, the story follows Bod’s progress as he grows from baby to teen, learning life’s lessons amid a cadre of the long-dead, ghouls, witches, intermittent human interlopers. A pallid, nocturnal guardian named Silas ensures that Bod receives food, books, and anything else he might need from the human world. Whenever the boy strays from his usual play among the headstones, he finds new dangers, learns his limitations and strengths, and acquires the skills he needs to survive within the confines of the graveyard and in wider world beyond.
Sounds cool, and I could see it being a really cool movie, too. Even if it is aimed at kids. To check out the full scoop, click HERE, and stick around for more on THE GRAVEYARD BOOK as we hear it!
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