Many of us who went to school in the 90s will be familiar with the 1993 Lois Lowry novel The Giver. Since the book’s release it has been in Hollywood’s sights, and the adaptation is coming closer to finally being realized with director Phillip Noyce of Salt fame reportedly in talks to helm the film version.
Jeff Bridges is set to produce and star in The Giver, playing the role of the Giver himself. The story tells of a dystopian world where there is no color, memory of history, pain or emotion among the society, and children are assigned professions at an early age. One child, Jonas, is selected to inherit the role of the Receiver of Memory, the one person responsible for possessing all past human memories, receiving them from, that’s right, the Giver.
The most recent draft of a script, of which there have been four previous versions over the years, has been completed by Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog), but that was in 2006 when he was being eyed to direct the project himself. It’s unclear whether a new draft is in the works.
What’s especially attractive about this movie for the studios is its franchise potential, with three other loosely-related Lowry novels being eyed as possible sequel material. Given the involvement of Walden Media, whose Chronicles of Narnia series is raking in the dough, a Giver franchise would be a very logical step.
The color elements especially make this a work that has been crying out to be showcased visually for years so it’s good to see the adaptation process finally moving forward. No word yet on whether Lowry’s other elementary school hit Number the Stars is set to follow in The Giver’s footsteps but we’ll let you know when we hear more.
What do you think of Phillip Noyce as the director to bring the world of The Giver to the big screen? Who would make a good Jonas?
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Source: Variety
Published: Nov 7, 2012 10:27 pm