With Dwayne Johnson vehicle Hercules under his belt and recently announced sequel Snow White and the Huntsman 2 coming down the pipeline, screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos is rapidly gaining favor with major Hollywood studios. Though he cut his teeth on kiddie flicks like Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, Battle for Terra and Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, the scribe has been steadily transitioning into larger blockbusters, and now, thanks to his work on Hercules, Spiliotopoulos has been brought on board to adapt another high-profile project – Fox’s adventure thriller Seven Wonders.
Based on the upcoming book by Ben Mezrich (The Accidental Billionaires, Bringing Down the House, Sex on the Moon), Seven Wonders focuses on a man who attempts to discover the reasons for his reclusive mathematician brother’s murder, a venture which hurtles him into a vast conspiracy involving the Seven Wonders of the World. For more on the book, you can check out the Amazon synopsis at the bottom of this article.
Brett Ratner, the director of Hercules, is producing the project through his RatPac Entertainment, which is likely one reason Spiliotopoulos came into consideration for the screenwriting gig. Flynn Picture Company’s Beau Flynn, credited with the idea for Mezrich’s novel, is also producing Seven Wonders, as he did Hercules.
Based on the synopsis below, Seven Wonders sounds like a fun, globe-trotting adventure, so I’ll look forward to seeing it hit theaters. With Ratner and Flynn working behind the scenes, it doesn’t sound like the project will have any trouble finding a respectable director and cast.
When the reclusive mathematician Jeremy Grady is murdered, it’s up to his estranged brother Jack to find out why. Jack’s search leads him on a far-flung journey—from Brazil, India, Peru, and beyond—as he unravels the mystery that links the Seven Wonders of the World, and discovers that Jeremy may have hit upon something that’s been concealed for centuries. With the help of scientist Sloane Costa, they discover a conspiracy to hide a roadmap to the Garden of Eden—and the truth behind a mythological ancient culture.
With a heart-pounding pace and panoramic backdrops, Seven Wonders is an electrifying read, and will be the first in a trilogy.
