Dinotrux by Chris Gall

Film rights to artist Chris Gall's DINOTRUX, an illustrated children's book about bionic part truck-part dinosaurs similar to Transformers, who roamed the earth and battled each other millions of years ago, to DreamWorks Animation for a 3-D feature film, by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf George Nicholson at Sterling Lord Literistic.

VARIETY: DreamWorks to drive 'Dinotrux'

Animation studio options rights to kiddie book

By Michael Fleming

DreamWorks Animation has optioned rights to "Dinotrux," an illustrated children's book that will be developed as a CG-animated film. Deal was for mid-six figures.

Written by Chris Gall, the 32-page book takes place in a fictional prehistoric age, when the world was ruled by Dinotrux, creatures that were part trucks, part dinosaurs, with species like the Craneosauraus, Garbageadon and Tyrannosaurus Trux plowing and bulldozing their way across the terrain.

The title characters will be talking creatures.

Gall is a commercial illustrator who has written three other books. "Dinotrux" will be published in April by Little, Brown.

Hotchkiss and Associates brokered the deal for Sterling Lord.

Grandma's Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast by Clete Smith

Film rights to Clete Smith's GRANDMA'S INTERGALACTIC BED & BREAKFAST, about a boy who goes to visit his hippie grandmother for the first time and discovers that her inn is a portal for comical aliens from all over the universe -- a secret that, until now, she has been able to keep from her small town, to Walt Disney for Mandeville Films (Beverly Hills Chihuahua) to produce, by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of George Nicholson at Sterling Lord Literistic.

Down River by John Hart

Film rights to Edgar Award winner John Hart's DOWN RIVER, about a man whose world disintegrates when he returns to his home town five years after being arrested for a murder charge, to Gil Adler (VALKYRIE, SUPERMAN RETURNS) and Articulus Entertainment, by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Mickey Choate at The Choate Agency.

Looking at Animals by Josh Goldfaden

Film rights to Josh Goldfaden's LOOKING AT ANIMALS short story, from his collection HUMAN RESOURCES, about a retired nature photographer who now observes the behavior of his suburban neighbors, to Big Beach Films (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) for a short film, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Alex Glass at Trident Media Group.

Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander

Film rights to New Yorker writer and This American Life correspondent Shalom Auslander's FORESKIN'S LAMENT, a memoir describing his Orthodox Jewish upbringing like a sardonic Portnoy, imagining worst-case scenarios that would be "so God," to writer/director Ric Cantor (Da Ali G. Show) for Steve Golin (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Babel) to produce, by Hotchkiss and Associates.

Stranger with My Face by Lois Duncan

Television rights to I Know What You Did Last Summer author Lois Duncan's STRANGER WITH MY FACE, about a perfect high school student whose malevolent identical twin inhabits her through astral projection and wreaks havoc on her life, to Lifetime with Jaffe/Braunstein Films (The Memory Keeper's Daughter) producing, by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of George Nicholson at Sterling Lord Literistic.

In His Sights by Kate Brennan

Television rights to Kate Brennan's IN HIS SIGHTS, the true story of a smart, successful writer who has been stalked by the same man for 13 years (and continues to live in hiding today), to Sony Pictures Television, by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Marly Rusoff at Marly Rusoff & Associates.

Maisie Dobbs By Jaqueline Winspear

TV rights to New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear's series featuring psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs, to Sally Head Productions, producer of the Prime Suspect series, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Amy Rennert.

Killing Rommel By Steven Pressfield

Film rights to Steven Pressfield's KILLING ROMMEL, the WWII story of the elite Long Range Desert Group of soldiers whose mission was to assassinate the German Field Marshal by tracking him commando-style through the unforgiving North African desert in a small, fast convoy of light trucks bristling with fire power like Mad Max, to Walt Disney Pictures and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, with Pressfield adapting along with Randall Wallace, by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Sterling Lord at Sterling Lord Literistic.

House of Night By PC and Kristin Cast

NYT bestselling authors PC Cast and Kristin Cast's HOUSE OF NIGHT series, set in the school where young "marked" students train to become adult vampires, to Michael Birnbaum at Empire Pictures (JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE, BANDITS), by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Meredith Bernstein at the Meredith Bernstein Literary Agency.

Throttle By Joe Hill and Stephen King

Joe Hill and Stephen King's THROTTLE novella, written for the anthology He Is Legend: Celebrating Richard Matheson, about a father and son in a tough motorcycle gang, which is attacked by a phantom big-rig truck until the identity of the truck driver is revealed in a shocking finale, to producer Nick Wechsler (The Road, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Rapture), by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Mickey Choate at The Choate Agency.

Tim Gautreaux Short Story Collections

Film rights to Tim Gautreaux's stories in the collections SAME PLACE SAME THINGS and WELDING WITH CHILDREN, about the rich and varied characters in small-town America to screenwriter/director/producer George Lavoo (REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES (HBO), A DOG YEAR (HBO)), by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Peter Matson at Sterling Lord Literistic.

The Brotherhoods By Det. Bill Oldham And Guy Lawson

Television rights to Det. Bill Oldham and Guy Lawson's THE BROTHERHOODS, about Oldham's twenty-year investigation tracking down NYPD cops Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito who became hit-men for the Mob, to HBO, for a five-hour mini-series with Dick Wolf (Law and Order) and Tom Thayer (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee) to produce, by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Salisbury Literary Agency.

Fortune's Children By Arthur Vanderbilt

Television rights to Arthur Vanderbilt's FORTUNE'S CHILDREN: The Saga of the Vanderbilt Family, about the super-wealthy in Ragtime-era New York City at the turn of the century, to HBO, for Joel Silver (THE MATRIX) to produce, by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Peter Matson at Sterling Lord Literistic.

How to Cook Your Daughter By Jessica Hendra and Blake Morrison

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.