Defending Jacob by William Landay

VARIETY: WB summons Kloves for 'Defending Jacob'

'Potter' scribe in talks to direct legal thriller; Parent producing

By RACHEL ABRAMS

Warner Bros. is in talks with "Harry Potter" scribe Steve Kloves to write and direct "Defending Jacob," an adaptation of William Landay's legal thriller.

Mary Parent will produce through her Disruption Entertainment banner.

Set in a wealthy Boston suburb, novel follows a district attorney who must leave his day job to defend his son from a murder charge while uncertain of his son's innocence.

Landay's tome has so far spent five months on the New York Times bestseller list and has been compared to novels "Presumed Innocent" and "Ordinary People." Publishing rights for "Jacob" have sold in 17 countries.

Paramount-based Disruption, which Parent set up last year, has ramped up business with projects including Guillermo del Toro's robots-vs.-monsters actioner "Pacific Rim" and New Line's "The Watching Hour."

Kloves wrote seven of the eight "Harry Potter" pics, and he worked on the script for "Akira," as well as Sony's "The Amazing Spider-Man." He previously helmed "The Fabulous Baker Boys" and "Flesh and Bone."

Lynn Harris will oversee "Jacob" for the studio, which is also in talks with Kloves to write, direct and produce WB's live-action take on "The Jungle Book." While deals are not yet signed, sources say "Jacob" would come first for the multihyphenate.

CAA reps Kloves, while the Martell Agency and Hotchkiss and Associates represented dramatic rights to the book.

Deadline Hollywood Daily

Warner Bros Buys Novel 'Defending Jacob'

Warner Bros has acquired screen rights to the William Landay suspense novel Defending Jacob for Mary Parent to produce through her Disruption banner. The novel involves a district attorney in Boston whose son is accused of killing a classmate. As he tries to clear his boy, the DA discovers many things about his son that he didn't know, including the possibility the 14-year old might actually have done it. Alice Martell of The Martell Agency and Jody Hotchkiss of Hotchkiss and Associated brokered the deal.

The Brotherhoods by Guy Lawson and Bill Oldham

Film 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 Warner Bros. with Dan Lin (SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE GANGSTER SQUAD) producing, by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Salisbury Literary Agency.

VARIETY: Warners nabs 'Brotherhoods' for Dan Lin

Cops and mobsters drama based true-crime tome

By DAVE MCNARY, RACHEL ABRAMS

Warner Bros. has acquired feature rights to "The Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia" and set it up with Warner-based producer Dan Lin.

Studio has tapped Bill Dubuque to adapt the book based on the investigation of former New York City cops. After a turncoat underworld boss fingered officers Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito as mob employees, William Oldham (a cop who worked alongside Caracappa and wrote the book with Guy Lawson) became a special investigator for the U.S. Attorney's Brooklyn office after the NYPD decided not to investigate.

The office eventually found enough evidence to arrest the pair. In 2006, they were convicted of labor racketeering, extortion, narcotics, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, eight counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to life in federal prison.

Mark Bauch at Lin Pictures brought in the book and is co-producer.

Studio is developing the project as a cop action thriller in the vein of "The Departed," which Lin oversaw as a studio exec. He is in post-production for Warners on "Gangster Squad," directed by Ruben Fleischer and starring Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn.

Dubuque is currently writing "The Judge" at Warner Bros. with Robert Downey Jr. attached to star. He previously wrote "The Accountant," which landed on the 2011 Black List.

Courtenay Valenti and Chris Gary are overseeing "The Brotherhoods" for Warner Bros.

Dick Wolf and NBCUniversal originally optioned "Brotherhoods" in 2007. At that point, three other projects based on Caracappa and Eppolito were in the works for Spring Creek, Mandalay and Columbia.

Hotchkiss and Associates negotiated the deal along with Salisbury Literary Agency on behalf of Lawson and Oldham. Paradigm and Zero Gravity rep Dubuque.

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

Film Rights to Christopher Healy's THE HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM, the first in a series set in a world where Prince Charming is not one prince but four, all of whom have serious issues with heroism and complicated relationships with their princesses Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel, to Twentieth Century Fox Animation (ICE AGE, RIO) with Chernin Entertainment producing, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates on behalf of Cheryl Pientka at Jill Grinberg Literary Management.

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Fox Animation Picks Up Children's Book 'Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom' (Exclusive)

Chernin Entertainment, which was behind "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," is producing.

Fox Animation has acquired the movie rights to children's book The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by first-time author Christopher Healy.

Chernin Entertainment, which produced Rise of the Planet of the Apes, is attached to produce.

The book, which hits shelves May 1, tells the story of the four princes from the classic fairy tales who saved Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty.

In the tome, the princes' due is glossed over by various minstrels, but the four young men -- cast out of their respective castles -- get a shot at redemption and glory when they uncover a plot that could destroy the kingdoms.

The 432-page novel from Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins Children's Books, is the first from Healy, who was a children's entertainment reviewer as well as a haunted house zombie actor before writing Saving Your Kingdom.

Healy is repped by Hotchkiss and Associates and Jill Grinberg Literary Management.

Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan

VARIETY: Stephenie Meyer options tome 'Dark Hall'

'Twilight' producer Wyck Godfrey also in talks to produce

By RACHEL ABRAMS

"Twilight" scribe Stephenie Meyer and Meghan Hibbett's Fickle Fish Films have optioned young-adult suspense tome "Down a Dark Hall" by novelist Lois Duncan and will produce a feature-film adaptation.

Duncan's 1974 novel revolves around Blackwood boarding school and its mysterious students. Ensnared in the chilling world is new student Kit Gordy, who must unravel Blackwood's haunted and tragic history before it's too late. "Twilight" producer Wyck Godfrey is also in talks to produce.

Meyer has taken on more film fare since her books became a global publishing and feature-film phenomenon. She recently produced and financed the Jerusha Hess-helmed "Austenland," a romantic comedy about a woman who travels to a Jane Austen theme park to find her perfect man. That pic, starring Keri Russell and Jane Seymour, is in post-production but is not yet slated for release.

Duncan has penned a number of novels that have made their way to the bigscreen, including "Hotel for Dogs" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer."

Myman Abel Fineman Fox Greenspan Light reps Meyer. Deal for Duncan was made on behalf of Sterling Lord Literistic by Hotchkiss and Associates.

The Madonnas Of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse

Deadline: HBO Adapting Novel 'The Madonnas Of Echo Park' Into Drama Series

EXCLUSIVE: HBO has put in development a drama series project based on the novel The Madonnas Of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse. The project, to be written by award-winning playwright Julia Cho, takes a look at the lives of a community in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in Los Angeles. It explores the relationships -- romantic, professional, familial -- of the Latinos that have built the community over the years, and the hipsters who're making their way in now, examining the complicated dynamic between the two as they struggle to build new lives for themselves in pursuit of the American dream. Kapital Entertainment's Aaron Kaplan and British writer Kelly Marcel are executive producing, reuniting after their first collaboration on Terra Nova, which the two executive produced. Terra Nova originated with a 15-page treatment by Marcel, which Kaplan brought to the U.S. For Cho, who will serve as co-executive producer, this marks a return to HBO, where she worked on Big Love. Her TV credits also include a stint on Fringe. She is with WME, Skyhorse is with Jody Hotchkiss.

At HBO, The Madonnas of Echo Park joins another Kapital-produced project, comedy pilot Viagra Diaries, created by Sex And The City's Darren Star and to be directed by Bridesmaids' Paul Feig. Additionally, Kaplan has several other cable projects in development.

At USA, he has the hourlong Finders Keepers. Written by Philip Levens, it is about a former FBI agent and missing persons specialist who finds people by immersing himself in their lives. Levens is with ICM.

At A&E, Kapital Entertainment is developing Dark Heart, a one-hour procedural written by Steven Long Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle (Paradigm), about a benevolent cop who, after having a massive heart attack, gets the heart of a psychopath. Lionsgate TV is producing.

At Lifetime, the company is behind Drink, a one-hour spec script written by Glenn Porter (UTA), which follows the life of the head of HR at a global alcohol and beverage company who, after suffering a head injury, loses her inhibitions and ability to control her impulse and ends up transforming her company into a hotbed of decadence, soaring profits and ambition.

At Nickelodeon, where Kaplan executive produces the Nick At Nite pilot Wendell & Vinnie starring Jerry Trainor, he has two multi-camera comedy projects in development. One is a comedy about a college student who becomes a "manny" for a family who had been transplanted from England. It is written by Howard Busgang and Tom Nursall (CAA), creators of the NBC comedy pilot Isabel, which Kaplan executive produces. The other is a twins project from Barry Safchik and Michael Platt (Verve). In the vein of Weird Science, it centers on a genius kid who creates a robot in his likeness - yet the two could not be more different.

Kapital's first cable series, The Inbetweeners, launches on MTV later this year. On the broadcast side, Kaplan hasexecutive produced produced two series, Terra Nova and ABC's GCB, and has four pilot currently in contention.

Kiss & Make Up by Katie D. Anderson

Deadline Hollywood Daily: Warner Premiere Options Digital Series Rights For Novel 'Kiss & Make Up'

New York, NY- Amazon Children's Publishing today announced it plans to publish "Kiss & Make Up," the first young adult novel by Oxford, Mississippi author Katie D. Anderson, in October 2012. Associate Publisher Tim Ditlow acquired World English and audio rights to the book from Cheryl Pientka at Jill Grinberg Literary Management.

"Kiss & Make Up" is a magical romantic comedy starring 16-year-old lip gloss addict and unlikely clairvoyant Emerson Taylor, who discovers during her first kiss that she is able to get glimpses of a guy's past when his lips meet hers. She quickly learns how to use her gift to steal secrets, memories, and even test answers from unsuspecting brainy boys. But when a school competition and a secret crush force her to forego her gift and study the old-fashioned way, Emerson risks losing her newfound reputation among the academic elite-and the guy she loves. Set against the glam backdrop of her aunt's top-selling cosmetics business, Emerson's story reveals how she "makes over" her previously selfish ways and finds that true beauty always wins out in the end.

"As the mother of two young girls, my goal is to create books that promote a positive message for young adults. If I can achieve that with a killer hook like a kiss that can read minds, well then, that's all the better," says Anderson.

Warner Premiere won the rights for a live-action digital series based on the novel which is currently in development. Dan Romanelli, an entertainment and consumer products executive, in association with Norm Marshall & Associates, is exploring potential cosmetic partnerships with several major international brands. Sean Daily of Hotchkiss & Associates handled the deal with Warner Premiere.

"We're excited to see so much enthusiasm for Katie's message of empowerment and self-confidence," says Ditlow. "The project has great potential to effectively speak to young readers through a number of different platforms."

Defending Jacob by William Landay

Deadline Hollywood Daily: Warner Bros Buys Novel 'Defending Jacob'

Warner Bros has acquired screen rights to the William Landay suspense novel Defending Jacob for Mary Parent to produce through her Disruption banner. The novel involves a district attorney in Boston whose son is accused of killing a classmate. As he tries to clear his boy, the DA discovers many things about his son that he didn't know, including the possibility the 14-year old might actually have done it. Alice Martell of The Martell Agency and Jody Hotchkiss of Hotchkiss and Associated brokered the deal.

Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser

VARIETY: Fox, Shawn Levy fancy 'Fancy Nancy'

21 Laps will develop the Jane O'Connor series

By DAVE MCNARY

Fox is going young with "Fancy Nancy," acquiring rights to the children's book series and setting it with studio-based Shawn Levy at his 21 Laps banner.

Fancy Nancy, a young girl who loves dressing up extravagantly in feather boas, ruby slippers and tutus, debuted in 2005. "The Fancy Nancy" series -- written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser -- has resulted in 50 titles published by HarperCollins with over 17 million books sold.

The "Nancy" series should be familiar to Levy, who has four daughters. He produced and directed DreamWorks' "Real Steel" and is producing Fox's comedy "Neighborhood Watch," starring Ben Stiller and opening July 27. He's also been attached to produce "The Fight Before Christmas" for Fox.

Hotchkiss and Associates represented HarperCollins in the deal.

Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman

Film rights to Christopher Buehlman's THOSE ACROSS THE RIVER, about a small town during the depression, to Mike Medavoy (SHUTTER ISLAND, BLACK SWAN) with Weed Road (I AM LEGEND) producing and Kip Williams (THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2) writing and directing, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Stephanie Lehmann at Elaine Koster Agency and Michelle Brower at Folio Literary Management.

DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD DAILY: 'Paranormal Activity 2′ Helmer Kip Williams Aligns With 'Those Across The River'

By MIKE FLEMING

EXCLUSIVE: Mike Medavoy, Douglas McKay and Ali Toukan have optioned the Christopher Buehlman literary horror novelThose Across The River. The trio is producing with Akiva Goldsman's Weed Road, and Tod "Kip" Williams is attached to write the script and direct the film. The book takes place in a small Southern town in Georgia in 1935. A WWI veteran moves there with his new wife after they inherit a home passed down through his family. He intends to write a book about his grandfather, an evil plantation owner, but soon realizes that there are some crazy things going on, including residents that are being killed and eaten. It's the Depression, and the horror begins after the town abandons a practice of sending two pigs each month across the river, though they've never figured exactly what happened to those animals. Williams most recently directed Paranormal Activity 2. The deal was made by Hotchkiss and Associates' Sean Daily for Folio Literary Management and Elaine Koster Agency. Williams is repped by UTA and 3 Arts.

The Pregnancy Project by Gaby Rodriguez and Jenna Glatzer

TV rights to Gaby Rodriguez's PREGNANT LIKE ME, based on the WA state high school honor student who conducted a social experiment about teen pregnancy and stereotypes, optioned to Lifetime for a television movie, by Jody Hotchkiss and Associates on behalf of Martin Literary Management.

House of Night by PC Cast and Kristin Cast

VARIETY: Davis Films bites for 'Night'

Vampire book series eyed for bigscreen franchise

By ANDREW STEWART

Davis Films, the company behind the "Resident Evil" franchise, has bought feature rights to mother-daughter authors P.C. and Kristin Cast's young-adult vampire series "House of Night."

Acquired as another potential franchise for Davis Films, "House of Night" centers on a 16-year-old girl named Zoey Redbird, who's sent to a special boarding school after learning she is genetically earmarked to become a "vampyre" in adolescence, or killed in the process.

The series has sold more than 12 million copies in the U.S. and has been on the New York Times bestseller list for a record 140 weeks, with versions in a total 39 countries. Series' ninth installment, "Destined," hit bookshelves on Oct. 25.

Davis Films topper Samuel Hadida credited the Cast writing duo for penning a series with worldwide appeal.

"They have created a world of adolescent growth against a backdrop of supernatural suspense that resonates around the world with young readers immersed in 'Twilight' and 'Harry Potter,'" Hadida said. "We see with 'House of Night' the same franchise potential."

Deal was negotiated by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates and Meredith Bernstein on behalf of the authors.

April Woo books by Leslie Glass

TV Rights to Leslie Glass's series of APRIL WOO books, covering 9 novels published over 12 years, about the Chinese-American police officer who becomes the first female head of detectives in Coney Island, to CBS with Apostle (RESCUE ME) producing and Amy Bloom (STATE OF MIND) writing, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates.

DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD DAILY: CBS Developing Cop Drama Based On Leslie Glass' April Woo Book Series

Leslie Glass' popular April Woo series of suspense novels is headed to TV. CBS has bought a drama procedural based on the nine mystery books that hails from Denis Leary and Jim Serpico's Apostle production banner and CBS TV Studios. Novelist and TV writer Amy Bloom, creator of the Lifetime series State of Mind, will write the script and executive produce the project with Leary and Serpico. Glass' April Woo mystery series center on the title character, a brilliant young Chinese-American who becomes the first female head of detectives in Coney Island, New York. Raised in the traditions of modesty, good manners and quiet self-effacement, she is hardly a perfect fit to tackle Coney Island's connected families, drug deals on the Boardwalk, feminist strippers, and corrupt politicians. The project stems from Apostle's first-look deal with CBS TV Studios for network TV.

Developing a drama series with a female Asian lead is a major step in diversity for the broadcast networks. It follows CBS' recent casting of black actors as the leads of three high-profile procedurals: LL Cool J on NCIS: LA, Laurence Fishburne on CSI and Forest Whitaker on Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. It also comes on the heels of CBS' sister network launching the first major drama series with an Asian actress as the title character, thriller Nikita starring Maggie Q. The April Woo series spans nine novels published over 12 years: Burning Time (1993), Hanging Time (1995), Loving Time (1996), Judging Time (1998), Stealing Time (1999), Tracking Time (2000), The Silent Bride (2002), A Killing Gift (2003), A Clean Kill (2005). Bloom and Apostle are repped by WME.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

TV series rights to Barry Lyga's I HUNT KILLERS, a dark thriller about a teen boy who uses his killer instinct, inherited from his serial killer father, to help solve a series of gruesome murders, to Warner Brothers Television with Silver Pictures (VERONICA MARS, SHERLOCK HOLMES) producing on behalf of Kathleen Anderson at Anderson Literary Management, by Hotchkiss and Associates.

VARIETY: WBTV to develop 'Killers' novel

Studio acquires rights to 2012 book

By DAVE MCNARY, JON WEISMAN

Warner Bros. TV has acquired rights to young-adult novel "I Hunt Killers" and plans to develop the project as a series with producer Joel Silver.

"Killers," written by Barry Lyga and scheduled to be published by Little Brown in April, concerns a teenager whose father is a jailed serial killer. Using his own knowledge, the teen tracks down other serial killers while remaining wary of his own potentially murderous impulses.

Hotchkiss & Associates, Anderson Literary Management and attorney Tom Collier of Sloan, Offer, Weber and Dern helped broker the deal.

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 the author's Orthodox Jewish upbringing like a sardonic Portnoy, imagining worst-case scenarios that would be "so Old Testament," to Killer Films (FAR FROM HEAVEN), Epoch Films (JUNEBUG) and Anne Carey (THE AMERICAN, ADVENTURELAND) with the author writing the screenplay, by Hotchkiss and Associates.

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Film rights to NYT Bestselling author Jay Asher and Printz Honor-winning author Carolyn Mackler's THE FUTURE OF US, in which two best friends log onto AOL in 1996 and discover a window to their future Facebook selves, to Warner Brothers, with Di Novi Pictures (SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS) producing, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency for Asher and Jodi Reamer at Writers House for Mackler. DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD DAILY

Warner Bros Grabs 'The Future Of Us'

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros made a fast deal Friday for screen rights to The Future of Us, a novel by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. Denise Di Novi's Di Novi Pictures will produce. Fox was also in the mix. The book is set in 1996, when a young girl gets the Internet at home for the first time. When she logs on, up pops a strange website. It's her Facebook profile from 15 years in the future, and she and her best friend try to change themselves to fit into or reject their future lives. Subtle decisions drastically influence who they become. Asher wrote 13 Reasons Why, a first novel that has become a big international bestseller and which is being developed at Universal as a star vehicle for Selena Gomez to star and Strike Entertainment to produce. Mackler wrote The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things. The Future of Us will be published in November by Razorbill, with a 500,000-copy first printing. Hotchkiss and Associates' Sean Daily made the deal with Andrea Brown Literary Agency and Writers House.

Wizard of Lies by Diana Henriques

Film rights to NYT bestselling journalist Diana Henriques' THE WIZARD OF LIES, about Bernie Madoff, from her personal prison interviews, as well as several friends, associates and family members; to HBO for Robert De Niro to play Madoff, by Hotchkiss and Associates on behalf of Frederica S. Friedman & Company.

DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD DAILY: Robert De Niro Dealing To Play Bernie Madoff For HBO Movie Of 'The Wizard Of Lies'

EXCLUSIVE: Diane Henriques' non-fiction book recounting of the life and lies of imprisoned swindler Bernie Madoff debuts at No. 10 onThe New York Times bestseller list this weekend. The Wizard Of Lies: Bernie Madoff And The Death Of Trust, published on April 26, has been optioned by HBO for a movie, and right now sources tell me that the pay channel is negotiating with Robert De Niro to play Madoff. There's no doubt that the two men definitely look alike. The book is said to be the definitive look at Madoff and his $65 billion Ponzi scheme. Meanwhile, De Niro has personal experience with being bilked: in 2009, Lawrence Salander, a prominent art gallery owner, was charged with bilking a slew of high-profile clients, including De Niro, out of $88 million on high-priced art deals over more than 15 years.

Wings of Madness by Paul Hoffman

VARIETY: Chris Wedge acquires flyboy bio

'Ice Age' creator options 'Madness'

By RACHEL ABRAMS, DAVE MCNARY

In a move that could mark his live-action debut, animation helmer Chris Wedge ("Ice Age") and his Wedge Works World Wide banner have acquired Paul Hoffman's tome "Wings of Madness: Alberto Santos-Dumont and the Invention of Flight."

"Wings," a biography of eccentric socialite Alberto Santos-Dumont, takes place in turn-of-the-century Paris and chronicles the maverick inventor's obsession with flight. Nikki Levy will oversee the project on behalf of Wedge Works, which has not yet attached a scribe.

Wedge, a co-founder and creative VP of Blue Sky Studios, is in production on "Leafmen" for Fox Animation and Blue Sky. The helmer helped launch the "Ice Age" animated franchise, the third installment of which grossed close to $900 million worldwide.

Wedge is repped by UTA. Deal was made by Hotchkiss and Associates

Eating With The Enemy by Robert Egan and Kurt Pitzer

Deadline Hollywood Daily: HBO Casts James Gandolfini As Jersey Guy Serving Up Ribs And North Korean Diplomacy

By MIKE FLEMING | Monday March 21, 2011

EXCLUSIVE: HBO Films has made a book and life rights deal so that The Sopranos star James Gandolfini can play another New Jersey guy. This time, he's attached to play Bobby Egan, owner of a Hackensack rib joint who became involved in back channel negotiations with North Korea to stop producing nuclear weapons. HBO Films has acquired the book Eating with the Enemy: How I Waged Peace With North Korea from my BBQ Shack in Hackensack, by Egan and Kurt Pitzer. The pic is a co-production between Tribeca Productions and Gandolfini's Atta Boy Productions banner.

Egan, wanting to make a difference, started his unlikely diplomat role by knocking on the door of the North Korean Consulate near the UN and saying, "I want to be your friend." That led Egan to live a double life out of Being There. Calling himself "Kim Jong Il's guy in New Jersey," Egan made four trips to North Korea. After he became the only Westerner appearing in North Korean politburo photos, he was initially considered a controversial figure in the US State Department. But he became a helpful conduit in backdoor nuke talks. In the end, his close friends in the North Korean consulate were recalled to their home country, the underground diplomacy stopped and Egan went back to running his rib joint. Hotchkiss and Associates made the deal.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Film rights to longtime NYT bestseller Jay Asher's THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, about a boy who receives a box of mysterious audiotapes from his first love, and follows her recorded voice on a strange night journey to discover why she committed suicide, to Universal Pictures, with July Moon Productions and Strike Entertainment (CHILDREN OF MEN) producing, Jennifer O'Kieffe writing, and Selena Gomez (RAMONA AND BEEZUS) starring, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss and Associates on behalf of Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD DAILY: Universal Acquires '13 Reasons Why' As Selena Gomez Vehicle

By MIKE FLEMING

EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment have acquired the Jay Asher novel 13 Reasons Why as a star vehicle for Selena Gomez. Strike's Eric Newman and Marc Abraham are producing with Mandy Teefey of July Moon Productions.

Jennifer O'Kieffe has been set to adapt the novel, about a shy California high school student who returns from school to find a box waiting on his doorstep. It contains seven cassette tapes recorded by Hanna Baker, the classmate he had a crush on. Before she committed suicide, Hannah sent the tapes to one classmate with instructions to pass them on to a list of students like a chain letter. The tapes explain to 13 people how they played a role in her death. The book was a bestseller when published in 2007 by the Penguin Books young adult imprint RazorBill. Strike's Kristel Laiblin is exec producer.

Gomez, who stars in the Disney Channel series The Wizards of Waverly Place, starred in the Tom Bezucha-directed Monte Carlo. She's repped by CAA.

Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot by Starr Smith

Film rights to Starr Smith's JIMMY STEWART: BOMBER PILOT, about actor Jimmy Stewart's 20 combat missions flown in WWII, eventually earning him the rank of brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve, to The Gold Co. (SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE), by Hotchkiss and Associates, on behalf of Alex Hoyt at Alexander Hoyt Associates.