The Lovely Bones

[Ghostboy]

Bad (or good?) news for Godardian and other Lynn Ramsay fans, since she's off the project and Peter Jackson and company are looking to sign on.

Based only on the synopsis of the novel, which I haven't read, I think it's a fantastic choice for them, a move back to Heavenly Creatures territory after so much epic grandstanding.

[godardian]

Bad (or good?) news for Godardian and other Lynn Ramsay fans, since she's off the project and Peter Jackson and company are looking to sign on.

Based only on the synopsis of the novel, which I haven't read, I think it's a fantastic choice for them, a move back to Heavenly Creatures territory after so much epic grandstanding.

Oh, pooh... I just knew this was going to be Ramsay's big break.   I agree that it'll be nice to see Jackson get back to something more small-scale (I'm not entirely indifferent to Lord of the Rings, they're obviously good stuff, but I'm a much bigger fan of Heavenly Creatures than the ubiquitous trilogy).

[MacGuffin]

Because you need to be a member of Variety to access the link, here's the story and synopsis:

Peter Jackson Collects The Lovely Bones

"The Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson and partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are in talks to adapt Alice Sebold's best-selling novel The Lovely Bones after completing King Kong, reports Variety.

"Bones" is a heartbreaking tale narrated by a 14-year old girl -- after she has been raped and murdered. From heaven, she observes her shattered family's attempt to heal, as a detective tries to solve the case and as her killer moves along his demented path.

The film rights are controlled by British-based FilmFour and producer Aimee Peyronnet, who made an option deal in 2000 based on the book's first 100 pages. Talks with Jackson & crew are early and no deal has been made yet, adds the trade.

[modage]

well if they're moving backwards in time (king kong is the mirror to LOTR, lovely bones is the mirror to heavenly creatures) then can we expect some low budget horror films soon?!?

[Fernando]

From AICN.

Jackson and Boyens confirm THE LOVELY BONES as their KONG follow-up!!!

When asked: WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOU PHILIPPA? WILL YOU CONTINUE TO WORK WITH PETER AND FRAN FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE?

Philippa responded with: Our next project after KING KONG is THE LOVELY BONES. We feel comfortable with each other. I am sure there will be other projects we do separately, but at the moment, as long as it works, we'll keep doing it.
Peter also says, "Well, the plan is to make THE LOVELY BONES after KING KONG" when answering a question about his future shooting in New Zealand.

As we all know, plans can change. There is that rumor that has been going around about a WW1 flick to be done after KONG. Personally, I'm excited for either. When Peter focuses on material he loves, he seems to have a way of making great films out of said material. LOTR, from what I've seen of KONG, BRAINDEAD, etc. His love for WW1 is astounding, to the point that he owns a few WW1 planes and a tank. THE LOVELY BONES (book by Alice Sebold) would have Peter and Fran returning to their HEAVENLY CREATURES roots, the intimate (and kind of fucked up) look at a small group of characters with some fantasy elements thrown in.
Anyway, THE LOVELY BONES seems to be in the crosshairs of both Peter and Philippa to be done after KONG. Until we hear otherwise, that's what I got on this one.

[MacGuffin]

'Rings' Director Eyeing 'Lovely Bones'

Oscar-winning "Lord of the Rings" couple Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh plan to bring the grim saga "The Lovely Bones" to the big screen in 2007 after they have finished "King Kong," Daily Variety reported in its Tuesday edition.

The trade paper said the New Zealanders have reached into their own pockets to option the feature film rights to Alice Sebold's debut novel from Britain's FilmFour movie production company, and will start adapting the screenplay with their "Rings" partner Philippa Boyens next January.

The project will be shopped to studios once the script is finished and Jackson has worked out a budget, Daily Variety said. Jackson will direct and serve as a producer.

"The Lovely Bones," a bestseller published in 2002, is narrated from heaven by a 14-year-old girl who has been raped and murdered, and looks down on the people left behind to deal with the tragedy.

"It's the best kind of fantasy in that it has a lot to say about the real world," Daily Variety quoted Jackson as saying. "You have an experience when you read the book that is unlike any other. I don't want the tone or the mood to be different or lost in the film."

FilmFour, which will develop "Lovely Bones" with Jackson and Walsh, is a unit of U.K. state-owned commercial broadcaster Channel 4.

Jackson, Walsh and Boyens won Oscars last year for writing "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" the third installment in their hobbit smash. The couple also shared the best picture Oscar, while Jackson was honored for directing and Walsh for song. Their remake of "King Kong," starring Naomi Watts, is set for release in December.

[tpfkabi]

has anyone read the book?
it sounds very interesting.

[Ghostboy]

I read it over Christmas. It's a very good read, of mostly good literary merit -- there's some stuff towards the end I wasn't too happy about, but for the most part I'd recommend it.

Jackson will almost certainly work wonders with it, provided he shows restraint with the afterlife stuff -- it'll be a sister film, in a lot of ways, to Heavenly Creatures.

[MacGuffin]

Jackson Rolls His Bones
Book adaptation being shopped to studios.

Peter Jackson is currently shopping the script for his next project, The Lovely Bones, to the major Hollywood studios ... save for New Line Cinema, which is embroiled in a protracted legal battle with the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings helmer and has banned him from working on their adaptation of The Hobbit.

Based on Alice Sebold's novel, The Lovely Bones was adapted by Jackson and his screenwriting partners Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh. Jackson will also direct the pic.

"As of early Monday evening, the bidding for Bones had not yet begun in earnest," Variety reports. "In addition to the majors, the project was sent to smaller companies, including United Artists."

An unnamed source for DeadlineHollywood.com claims, "It went out today to almost everybody and the offers are across the board. That's because there was a cover letter laying out basics like approximate budget, start of photography, etc. It simply wants the studios to make a proposal with no ask. It also wants them as part of the proposal to make a recommendation about release date and inform what competitive titles they'll have during the quarter of the release date they suggest."

The Lovely Bones revolves around a teenage girl who is raped and killed, but her spirit continues to follow her family and her murderer.

[tpfkabi]

I thought the Hobbit ban turned out to not be totally true.

[MacGuffin]

So How Is Peter Jackson's Script for 'The Lovely Bones'?
Source: New York Magazine

As Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lovely Bones continues to make the rounds among Hollywood's studios (aside from New Line, sworn enemies of the once-burly Kiwi filmmaker), we thought we'd take a look at his screenplay to see how it reads. The screenplay, 112-pages long and co-written with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, doesn't diverge wildly from Alice Sebold's novel; the famous opening line of chapter one — "My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was 14 years old when I was murdered on December 6th, 1973" — appears nearly verbatim on page 5 of the script.

We admire Jackson's determination to make this film after the immense undertakings of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong; The Lovely Bones is a throwback in many ways to Jackson's breakthrough film, the still-wondrous Heavenly Creatures. Both are small, narrowly focused stories of teenage girls in trouble: Heavenly Creatures' Pauline and Juliet, real-life New Zealand teen murderers, and Susie Salmon in The Lovely Bones, killed at 14. And both make dramatic use of Jackson's skills as a fantasist by weaving the supernatural into reality: Heavenly Creatures through the girls' retreat into their charged fantasy world of knights and damsels in distress, and The Lovely Bones via Susie's frequent attempts to make contact with the living world.

But The Lovely Bones looks to be not nearly as good as Heavenly Creatures. Jackson doesn't get into Susie's head the way he did Pauline and Juliet's, and the incursion of the supernatural into everyday life feels showy rather than integral. The fantasy scenes in Heavenly Creatures were momentous, despite the shakiness of the special effects; though it's certain that the effects in The Lovely Bones will be brilliant, the scenes in Heaven, and Susie's interaction with Earth, don't have much magic on the page.

Spoilers ahead! Jackson's screenplay leaves in most every plot point from the book, including the crucial scene in which Susie returns to earth, inhabits the body of another girl, and has sex with the boy she loved at 14. It also keeps the anticlimactic ending to the investigation into Susie's murder: Her killer is never found, though Susie in a tiny way contributes to his ignominious death. So much of the novel's action is stuffed into the screenplay, in fact, that little of it registers as important — to the family left behind, or to Susie. And despite frequent voice-over, we lose the sense — so important to the novel — of Susie as both caring participant and omniscient narrator, seeing into the souls of those left behind.

As we noted Tuesday, Jackson is reportedly asking for $65 million to make The Lovely Bones, plus his directing and producing fees. (Variety reported yesterday that the total budget could run to $90 million.) So that's almost $100 mil to make a slightly spooky, gently sad domestic drama narrated by a raped and murdered girl. It's got a gruesome premise, a downbeat ending, gentle healing in place of Hollywood catharsis, and little opportunity to cast stars. Susie's parents are decently sized roles, but the mother is unsympathetic: She cheats on her husband and leaves her family. Susie's father might be an attractive role for an actor with box-office draw, but who knows if Jackson — who seems to prefer real actors to stars — will cast one?

As for Susie? Let's just hope Jackson doesn't punt and cast Dakota Fanning in the role.

Variety attributes the delay in selling The Lovely Bones to Jackson's demands for promotional plans from the studios in question. But isn't it also likely that studios are balking because they can't figure out how to avoid losing their shirts on an art-house movie with a blockbuster budget?

[MacGuffin]

Dreamworks, Peter Jackson unite
Studio picks up 'Lovely Bones'
Source: Variety

Peter Jackson will make his next movie at DreamWorks.

Committing at least $65 million, DreamWorks in association with Film 4 has won the bidding for Jackson's bigscreen adaptation of Alice Sebold's best-selling 2002 tome "The Lovely Bones."

Announcement came early Friday evening, capping a weeklong auction that had three other majors vying for Jackson's project as well-Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal and Sony.

Jackson is set to begin lensing in October in Pennsylvania and New Zealand from a script he co-wrote with "Lord of the Rings" collaborators Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh. Paramount, which owns DreamWorks, will distribute "Bones" worldwide, with Jackson promising to deliver the film by the fourth quarter 2008.

Producers are Jackson, Walsh and Aimee Peyronnet. Ken Kamins, Film 4's Tessa Ross and Jim Wilson will exec produce.

Project is a departure from the string of the special-effects driven tentpoles-"Lord of the Rings" franchise and "King Kong"-that have made Jackson one of the industry's most influential filmmakers.

"Bones," with its heart-wrenching storyline, is closer in tone to Jackson's 1994 "Heavenly Creatures." Sebold's book tells the story of a 14-year-old who has been raped and killed, and now watches over her family and killer.

"When you read an emotionally magical story that cries out to be turned into a major motion picture, you hope its winding path can find its way to the door of your own company," DreamWorks' Steven Spielberg said.

DreamWorks was a natural fit for several reasons, including Spielberg's interest in working with Jackson. Also, DreamWorks fought hard for the film rights to Sebold's book several years ago before the rights went to Jackson.

And Jackson made his last movie, "King Kong," with DreamWorks CEO-co-chair Stacey Snider when Snider was still running Universal.

Insiders say the acquisition deal came in at just under $65 million, but that might not include a $25 million contingency fee.

"We are thrilled that DreamWorks Studios has been able to acquire the film rights to this story that has captivated so many people," Snider said. "In the hands of Peter Jackson, we have a master of cinematic storytelling to bring it to the screen."

[Pozer]

so i read this in two days.  i enjoyed.  as usual, i agree with what the ghostboy said back in '05.  some things in the end fall flat or were too cliched or something.  but i loved the narrative and the way it danced around through different lives/flashbacks. 

jackson will do great with this.  that is unless spill burg gets in the way too much...

Steve: Fanning?
Pete: An unknown?
Steve: Can't go wrong with Dakotes.
Pete: I feel she's a bit overused.  Great in your stuff though. 
Steve: We'll come back to this.  Next idea - now roll around in bed with me on this one - we combined projects.  Indiana Jones and The Lovely Bones...

[MacGuffin]

Weisz to star in 'Lovely Bones'
Actress set for Peter Jackson adaptation
Source: Variety

Rachel Weisz is set to star in "The Lovely Bones," the Peter Jackson-directed adaptation of the Alice Sebold novel.

DreamWorks begins production on the film in October, and Paramount Pictures will distribute worldwide.

Weisz will play the mother of a young girl who is abducted and is feared to have been murdered.

Jackson wrote the script with his "Lord of the Rings" scripting partners Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh. DreamWorks bested several studios to acquire the fully-developed project, which will be made in association with Film 4.

Carolynne Cunningham, Jackson, Walsh and Aimee Peyronnet will produce, while Film 4's Tessa Ross will exec produce with Ken Kamins and Jim Wilson. The film will shoot in Pennsylvania and New Zealand.

Weisz, who won an Oscar for "The Constant Gardener," was available after declining to reprise in a third installment of "The Mummy" for Universal.

[MacGuffin]

Ryan Gosling set for 'Lovely Bones'
Actor joins Weisz in Jackson adaptation
Source: Variety

Ryan Gosling is set to star opposite Rachel Weisz in Peter Jackson's feature adaptation of best-selling tome "The Lovely Bones" for DreamWorks.

Jackson will begin lensing in October in Pennsylvania and New Zealand. Film will be distributed worldwide by Paramount.

Based on Alice Sebold's novel, storyline revolves around a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family--and killer--from heaven. Girl must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Gosling will play the girl's father; Weisz plays the mother.

Gosling, who garnered an Oscar nom for his performance in indie pic "Half Nelson," will next be in theaters with "Lars and the Real Girl," which bows this fall. His other credits include "Fracture," "Stay" and "The Believer."

Producers of "Lovely Bones" are Jackson, Carolynne Cunningham, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh. Film 4's Tessa Ross, Ken Kamins and Jim Wilson are exec producing. DreamWorks secured the film rights to Sebold's book in association with Film 4.

Jackson, who developed the project before shopping to studios, penned the adapted screenplay with Boyens and Walsh. Trio are frequent collaborators, co-writing and producing the three "Lord of the Rings" films and "King Kong" together.