Elizabeth Kostova's Dracula Novel 'The Historian' Getting Treatment
Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Remakes and Sequels
Moviegoers are about to be up to their (succulent) necks in vampire movies. Currently in theaters is non-mainstream vampire fare like the Russian film Day Watch, the very limited release Rise: Blood Hunter and the short film "Quartier de la Madeleine", which is Vincenzo Natali's lame contribution to the otherwise enjoyable compilation Paris Je T'Aime. But on their way to multiplexes near you are the big-deal vampire pics Castlevania, I Am Legend, 30 Days of Night, Daybreakers, Cirque du Freak, Dracula Year Zero, The Un Dead, Hotel Transylvania, Bloodrayne II: Deliverance, Already Dead, Town Creek and Blood: The Last Vampire. And straight to your rental queue is Lost Boys 2: The Tribe. This isn't even counting a lot of the vampire indies being made right now.Officially added to the pile now is Sony's adaptation of Elizabeth Kostova's novel The Historian. The movie was announced two years ago when the studio paid seven figures for the rights to the book, which hadn't yet hit stores. Finally, long after watching the novel become a bestseller (it was ranked #28 for 2005 by Nielsen BookScan), the studio is finally moving forward with the movie. Sony has hired former child actor (Starship Troopers) and singer ('Aladdin' in Aladdin) Brad Kane to write the script. According to producer Douglas Wick (Hollow Man), who is overseeing the project with his Red Wagon partner Lucy Fisher, it has taken two years to find just the right person to capture the novel's sexiness and its credibility. Kane has been rising as a screenwriter recently, having scripted an upcoming film titled These City Walls and having done rewrites on the Richard Pryor biopic, Live. The plot of The Historian deals with a young woman searching for her father who is in turn searching for the grave of Vlad the Impaler (the inspiration for Dracula).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-28-2008 @ 8:31PM
Jessica said...
Isn't it more accurate to say that a young woman, Helen, follows Paul to find the whereabouts about Professor Rossi? She wasn't too keen about Paul's discovery regarding Rossi, but, reluctantly, she agrees to go with him.
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6-29-2008 @ 5:46PM
Fizz Byers said...
This was such a great book -- I'm glad to hear they are moving forward with the film! http://www,popduds.com
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9-28-2008 @ 5:50PM
meghan said...
What i don't understand is in her book she mentioned that Dracula visited the Saint Matthieu monastery every sixteen years but the monastery is in France and I don't see why he would be interested in going to France.
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10-30-2009 @ 1:40PM
M... said...
Hi!
I wondered about that too. After re-reading, I came to this conclusion.
When Vlad has Rossi at the crypt in Bulgaria, he mentioned how he wanted Rossi to catalog the library before it was moved. He said the move was necessary for a couple of reasons:
1. He sensed a great danger in the near future and
2. the new location would be near a large city, which would serve him better in making his access to the modern world much easier.
In short, it's possible Vlad was 'casing' the St. Mathieu Monastery as a potential spot for his library/crypt. And Paris would be the hub for his re-introduction into the modern world.
Just my take anyway. =)
Happy reading!
10-11-2008 @ 5:11PM
Debbie said...
I am taken aback on the reviews I read on this site. I fell in love with this novel and found every word and adventure enthralling. I have passed my copy (of the book) to many fellow reading enthusiasts, and all share the same review. If you want to be taken to a place where it is hard to transcend back to “the here and now” this is for you - not only in time and space but with adventure, love, betrayal, and friendship. This novel is amazingly written in a cadence that dances and sings and plays upon the English language as others have forgotten. I look forward with anticipation to meeting the characters on the big screen. I only hope the film makers can capture the historical sites, sounds and customs as Ms. Kostova has and hope the movie will live up to the excitement brought to me in every word.
I look forward to more from Elizabeth Kostova.
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11-08-2009 @ 6:31PM
Ronnie said...
be on the lookout for "The Swan Thieves", Kostova's new novel, releasing in January. I'm psyched!
http://www.booksamillion.com/product/9780316065788?id=4468154763202
10-25-2008 @ 9:57AM
DLB said...
The novel was GREAT!!!! I could not put the book down. I look forward to the movie adaptation. I only hope that the people making the movie can stay true to the novel as much as possible.
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10-25-2008 @ 5:32AM
Brooke said...
I thought Kostova's Historian was a refreshing take on the "vampire" genre. I can't wait for the movie, I only hope that they don't mess it up. Too many great books have been shamed by poor...movie making. And unfortunately most do not read the book but judge it by it's hollywood previews.
What I don't understand is how so many people cannot understand some of the most basic aspects of this book. If you're not going to savior every little detail the author has provided for us, than why are you even reading such a detailed novel? Novels like this cannot be rushed through, they must be read w/ a passion. To those who didn't understand more than ... 5 things, I'd say you should reread the book...only this time take your time.
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4-21-2009 @ 9:34AM
Anthony said...
The Historian by far has been the best novel I have read to date. I can not understand how any one could not enjoy this novel to the extream. I have recomended it to over 4 dozen people with nothing but glowing responces.
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5-14-2009 @ 8:56PM
Cathy said...
A good book, but I hope Brad Kane can write better than he can
sing. The book is very complex and in the wrong hands will come
out sloppy and laughable.
Mr. Campbell (article author) however is mistaken. The name
Dracula is essentially all Stoker took for the character of the
vampire count. I'm afraid, the late Ray McNally was mistaken.
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6-16-2007 @ 5:02AM
bgdc said...
wretched novel. it starts strong but the last third is downright lame. SPOILER:
Dracula turns out to be a preening, fragile old dude...oooh, spooky. lol
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8-01-2009 @ 12:02AM
Bloop said...
That's the whole point. The Historian is dracula. He's much more than this ruthless murderer. He's actually intelligent and elegant. Definitely my favorite book.
6-18-2007 @ 11:31AM
3rdshifta said...
sublime novel. The sense of dread builds deliciously. Dig deep into Europe's musty secrets and you'll find "Philosophies of The Aweful..."
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