Butler's Script Sale of the Week...
April 29th, 2001
Another busy pre-strike week. I think we have some potential winners with WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE , NEVERMORE: THE NIGHTMARES OF EDGAR ALLAN POE, M. Night Shyamalan's
SIGNS and the tobacco industry satire THANK YOU FOR SMOKING.
The sale I'm most excited about this week is Pandemonium's acquisition of the rights to Sebastian Junger's upcoming book, FIRE, This was a preemptive bid on the new non-fiction book from the author of the book that THE PERFECT STORM (2000) was based on.
I thought THE PERFECT STORM was a great flick, not a perfect one mind you, but a very effective film. We knew how it would end, yet it was a thoroughly engrossing film. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately went out and bought Junger's book.
Junger, a journalist who now has a few projects in the Hollywood pipeline thanks to the success of THE PERFECT STORM, had quite a challenge in writing that book. He set out to chronicle "the storm of the century" which hit New England in the fall of 1991, with much emphasis placed on the sinking of the fishing trawler The Andrea Gail. Yet no one knows exactly what happened to that fishing vessel, as neither the crew nor the ship were ever found. Like Melville in Moby Dick Junger goes into much detail about the science of the sea, weather, storms, and fishing. He also tries to get as clear a picture as possible of who these men were that were lost at sea and why they were at sea in the first place. He finally theorizes, through his scientific research and first-hand accounts of others involved in shipwrecks, what could have happened to The Andrea Gail. He succeeds in producing a truly engrossing read - a portrait of average men and women trapped in battle with the incredible awe-inspiring power of Mother Nature.
With FIRE, Junger again explores a non-fiction account of man vs. nature. The book isn't due to be published until the fall of this year. We do know that it explores the science of fires and fire fighting, as well as those brave souls who battle blazes. At the center will be a mammoth wilderness fire that threatens a northeastern town. I think we can be assured that Junger will present an authoritative account of fire fighting as well as provide deep insight into those who risk their lives carrying out such a dangerous duty.
No screenwriter has been assigned to adapt as of yet. Bill Wittliff (LEGENDS OF THE FALL, 1994) adapted THE PERFECT STORM and I think he did a good job with what must have been a difficult book to adapt for the screen. Perhaps Pandemonium should consider giving him a shot with this one.
At any rate, I'll be scooping up the book as soon as it's published and I'll be looking forward to a screen version full of genuine "true life" drama. I have a feeling this won't just be another BACKDRAFT (1991).
-- Edward Butler
SIGNS and the tobacco industry satire THANK YOU FOR SMOKING.
The sale I'm most excited about this week is Pandemonium's acquisition of the rights to Sebastian Junger's upcoming book, FIRE, This was a preemptive bid on the new non-fiction book from the author of the book that THE PERFECT STORM (2000) was based on.
I thought THE PERFECT STORM was a great flick, not a perfect one mind you, but a very effective film. We knew how it would end, yet it was a thoroughly engrossing film. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately went out and bought Junger's book.
Junger, a journalist who now has a few projects in the Hollywood pipeline thanks to the success of THE PERFECT STORM, had quite a challenge in writing that book. He set out to chronicle "the storm of the century" which hit New England in the fall of 1991, with much emphasis placed on the sinking of the fishing trawler The Andrea Gail. Yet no one knows exactly what happened to that fishing vessel, as neither the crew nor the ship were ever found. Like Melville in Moby Dick Junger goes into much detail about the science of the sea, weather, storms, and fishing. He also tries to get as clear a picture as possible of who these men were that were lost at sea and why they were at sea in the first place. He finally theorizes, through his scientific research and first-hand accounts of others involved in shipwrecks, what could have happened to The Andrea Gail. He succeeds in producing a truly engrossing read - a portrait of average men and women trapped in battle with the incredible awe-inspiring power of Mother Nature.
With FIRE, Junger again explores a non-fiction account of man vs. nature. The book isn't due to be published until the fall of this year. We do know that it explores the science of fires and fire fighting, as well as those brave souls who battle blazes. At the center will be a mammoth wilderness fire that threatens a northeastern town. I think we can be assured that Junger will present an authoritative account of fire fighting as well as provide deep insight into those who risk their lives carrying out such a dangerous duty.
No screenwriter has been assigned to adapt as of yet. Bill Wittliff (LEGENDS OF THE FALL, 1994) adapted THE PERFECT STORM and I think he did a good job with what must have been a difficult book to adapt for the screen. Perhaps Pandemonium should consider giving him a shot with this one.
At any rate, I'll be scooping up the book as soon as it's published and I'll be looking forward to a screen version full of genuine "true life" drama. I have a feeling this won't just be another BACKDRAFT (1991).
-- Edward Butler
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