VARIETY

Brits savor ‘Flavia’

Sam Mendes on TV case for youth sleuth

By DIANA LODDERHOSE

Sam Mendes’ shingle Neal Street Prods. has optioned rights to Alan Bradley’s New York Times bestselling mystery series “Flavia de Luce” to develop as a television series.

Story, set in a rural village in post-WWII Blighty, follows the adventures of a precocious 11-year-old sleuth named Flavia.

The young girl, a science enthusiast with a particular passion for poison, lives on a family estate with two sinister older sisters and an eccentric widowed father and uses her encyclopedic knowledge to solve murders.

Bradley’s series has been sold to publishers in 35 countries and been translated into 31 languages. It has snagged a slew of publishing awards including the Crime Writers’ Assn. Debut Dagger Award and the Dilys Award.

TV series will be exec produced by Neal Street’s Pippa Harris and Mendes and co-produced by Julie Blumenthal and Wonderful Films’ William Horberg.

Neal Street has already had success this year with TV series “Call the Midwife,” toplining Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart and Vanessa Redgrave. Series, set in 1950s East End London, became the highest-rated drama series for the BBC since 2001.

“After the success of ‘Call the Midwife’ we were keen to find another high-quality book series to adapt and luckily discovered Alan Bradley’s ‘Flavia de Luce’ books,” said Mendes. “I have always been a fan of the classic British mystery detective genre and ‘Flavia de Luce’ is a fresh and captivating take on it.”

Harris added that the adventures were “rich with multi-layered mysteries, memorable supporting characters and a cinematic period backdrop.”

Deal was made on behalf of the Bulkowski Agency by Hotchkiss and Associates.

Neal Street, which was formed in 2003 with Mendes, Harris and Caro Newlin, has produced pics such as “Revolutionary Road” and “Starter for Ten,” TV productions such as “Stuart: A Life Backwards” and theater hits such as “Shrek: The Musical” and upcoming production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

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.

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 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.

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.

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 has  executive produced produced two series, Terra Nova and ABC’s GCB, and has four pilot currently in contention.

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.”

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.

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.

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.