Books into Films

Yesterday, I shared that Andrew Henry's Meadow has been turned into a screenplay by none other than Zach Braff.  Today, I learned that The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - and it JUST came out - has already been optioned by Warner Brothers.  Oh my! 

I grew up reading all of Walter Farley's wonderful horse books. - Well, I thought they were wonderful.  I have revisited The Black Stallion since then and it is still wonderful.  Some of the later titles turned into formula books - scrappy jockey and/or trainer takes underrated loser horse and turns her or him into a WINNER!!!  YAY!!

Reading The Scorpio Races brought all that excitement back.  HOWEVER, the Scorpio Races don't end in just a win or losses.  They always end in death for one or more jockeys.  And their mounts are the predators!  So take Farley and add Bram Stoker and throw in a signature Stiefvater strong female character, some struggling siblings and a lad enslaved to his magical mount and its owner and you have...breathlessness. Intense page-turning breathlessness. 

I hope they do justice to this book.  This is a film I want to see.

BTW, The Lorax is being turned into a new animated feature - very colorful and 3-D-ish - due out in March, 2012. What would Hollywood do without books?