Film rights to Jessica Hendra and Blake Morrison's HOW TO COOK YOUR DAUGHTER, the memoir of a mother with two young daughters, confronting her own abusive writer/comedian father Tony Hendra (author of the bestselling confessional memoir FATHER JOE), to producer Richard Saperstein (1408, Frequency, Seven), on behalf of Sterling Lord Literistic, by Hotchkiss and Associates.
This is for the Mara Salvatrucha By Samuel Logan
Film rights to Samuel Logan's THIS IS FOR THE MARA SALVATRUCHA, the story of the short life of Brenda Paz, who became a top informant in a federal investigation of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, to Paramount Vantage (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN,) for Di Bonaventura Pictures (TRANSFORMERS,) with Rupert Wyatt (THE ESCAPIST) adapting, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Rebecca Friedman at Sterling Lord Literistic.
How to Steal a Dog By Barbara O'Connor
Film rights to Barbara O'Connor's HOW TO STEAL A DOG, about a recently homeless young girl who plots to help her family move out of their car by collecting on a "Lost Dog" reward poster for a dog she will steal herself, to Les Franck (Loggerheads) and Tracy Kilpatrick's Going Again Films, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Barbara Markowitz at the Barbara Markowitz Literary Agency.
Until Proven Innocent By Stuart Taylor Jr. and KC Johnson
Film rights to Journalist/legal scholars Stuart Taylor Jr. and KC Johnson's UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT, about the Duke Lacrosse team rape case, to HBO for producer Josh Maurer (Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, The Pentagon Papers, The Hoax), by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of the Gail Ross Literary Agency.
The Cure for Anything Is Salt Water By Mary South
Film rights to Former editor Mary South's THE CURE FOR ANYTHING IS SALT WATER, in which the author tells of quitting her publishing job, selling all her possessions, and taking her two Jack Russell terriers on a fifteen-hundred-mile odyssey from Florida to Maine aboard a 40 foot trawler, to Jeff Sharp Entertainment (Proof, You Can Count On Me, Boys Don't Cry), on behalf of Gail Ross at Gail Ross Literary Agency, by Hotchkiss and Associates.
90 Minutes in Heaven By Don Piper and Cecil Murphey
Film rights to NYT bestselling authors Don Piper and Cecil Murphey's 90 MINUTES IN HEAVEN, in which Baptist minister Piper recounts his death, passage to heaven, and return to earth where he endures a long and grueling recovery and spiritual awakening, to Dawn Parouse Productions (PRISON BREAK, TRU CALLING) for a feature film, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency.
The Long Road Home By Martha Raddatz
Film rights to ABC chief White House correspondent Martha Raddatz's THE LONG ROAD HOME, centering on the deadly 2004 ambush against the 1st Cavalry Division in Sadr City, Iraq; and the painful vigil kept by their families back home in Fort Hood, Texas as the battle raged over 48 hours, to Mike Medavoy at Phoenix Pictures (Zodiac, Holes), by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of the Gail Ross Literary Agency.
Secretariat By William Nack
Film rights to William Nack's SECRETARIAT: THE MAKING OF A CHAMPION, a biography of the Triple Crown-winning racehorse who won the Belmont Stakes by a record-breaking thirty-one lengths, to producers Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray (MIRACLE, THE ROOKIE, INVINCIBLE) at Disney, on behalf of Sterling Lord at Sterling Lord Literistic, by Hotchkiss and Associates.
Hollow Earth By David Standish
Film Rights to David Standish's HOLLOW EARTH, about the wild history of scientists and writers proposing habitable land or even entire civilizations thriving beneath the earth's surface, to DreamWorks, for an animated feature film about a journey to the center of the earth, on behalf of Leslie Breed at the Leslie Breed Literary Agency, by Hotchkiss and Associates.
A Thousand Splendid Suns By Khaled Hosseini
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.
Kringle By Tony Abbott
Film rights to Tony Abbott's KRINGLE, the story of an orphan boy, Kris Kringle, who teams up with elves and flying reindeer to free children that have been enslaved by goblins, to writer/director Mark Dindal (Chicken Little, The Emperor's New Groove, The Little Mermaid), by Hotchkiss and Associates with George Nicholson of Sterling Lord Literistic.
In early 2007, optioned to Paramount and producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, as a live-action feature.
Monster Island By David Wellington
Film rights to David Wellington's MONSTER ISLAND, about a small army of female soldiers led by a UN weapons inspector as they search for much needed medicine, to Stephen Susco (The Grudge), who will adapt and produce, by Sean Daily of Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Thunder's Mouth Press.
The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless By Ahmet Zappa
Film rights to Ahmet Zappa's THE MONSTROUS MEMOIRS OF A MIGHTY MCFEARLESS, in which Minerva McFearless keeps a journal of the monsters she and her brother must defeat when they embark on a mission to save their father from the most diabolical creature in the universe, to Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, sold outright, in a major deal, reportedly for $1.5 million, by Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary and Jody Hotchkiss at Hotchkiss & Associates
VARIETY: Disney, Bruckheimer book 'Mighty'
Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films have paid $1.5 million for film rights to the unpublished novel "Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless," by first-time writer Ahmet Zappa. The story concerns a young brother and sister who learn their family is part of a long line of monster hunters. The pair squabble constantly but must band together against the most diabolical creature in the universe. The book is scheduled for publication in August from Random House as a hardcover with full-color art. Zappa wrote the story and penned some 300 illustrations.