Film rights to Khaled Hosseini's A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, the story of an unusual friendship between two Afghan women brought jarringly together by history, by loss, and by their shared Muslim husband in a period spanning the idyllic mid-1950s to post 9/11 Kabul, to Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin, by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of The Elaine Koster Agency.
VARIETY: Zaillian takes shine to 'Suns'
Hosseini's bestselling novel finds director
By TATIANA SIEGEL
Steven Zaillian has signed on to adapt Khaled Hosseini's bestselling novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and is attached to direct the Columbia Pictures drama.
The book, Hosseini's follow-up to "The Kite Runner," was published in May by Riverhead and debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list, where it remained for three months. The story revolves around two Muslim women, married to the same man, who foster a friendship that lasts more than 10 years against the backdrop of war in Afghanistan.
Scott Rudin is producing. He bought the book in January preemptively for high six against seven figures and set it up at Col, which plans to make the film for about $15 million.
Zaillian recently teamed with Mandate Pictures to produce modestly budgeted, character-driven films and signed a first-look deal with Sony. His writing credits include "Gangs of New York," "Schindler's List" and the upcoming "American Gangster." He most recently wrote and directed Sony's remake of "All the King's Men."
Zaillian is repped by Endeavor.