It's a Bird! It's a Boy! It's a Franchise!
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery & Suspense, Sony, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Okay, try and stay with me on this: it's a movie about six children who are genetically engineered to fly. Now, what if said kids escaped from those experimenting on them and were subsequently pursued by a pack of human-wolf hybrids?
I know what you're thinking -- that this could either be the best movie ever made or anything but. Variety has reason to think that Columbia is tipping towards the former, as they've picked up the rights to James Patterson's young adult book series, Maximum Ride. It seems like quite the change of pace for Patterson, he of Alex Cross mystery fame, but as far as the adaptation is concerned, perhaps Don Payne can rein things in, what with two straight-up superhero scripts already under his belt. Oh, and did I mention that frequent Marvel movie producer Avi Arad is also on board?
(Dare I make a suggestion, though: the title makes me think of a guide to Jean-Claude Van Damme's all-time favorite rollercoasters more than a mutants-on-the-lam saga. Just sayin'.)
Can any of our trusty readers vouch for the novels, or at least for their offspring who might have picked up at least one of the four published to date? Are those as new to the concept as I am game for this potential franchise in the making? Goodness knows that we'll need something to fill that supernatural-teen gap post-Twilight...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-08-2008 @ 1:12PM
caterpillargirl said...
I have read the books, well the first two anyway and I thought they were really horrible. It has a teenage girl in the lead, well what james pattersons thinks a teenage girl should act and talk like and thats not saying much. There is alot of angst, and "changes" and teenage love, its pretty insipid stuff
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8-08-2008 @ 1:12PM
Keith said...
I can speak for the novels. I read them and at first was quite surprised that James Patterson had written them.
The novels (there are 2 I believe) are quite good! What it all will depend on is whether or not the scripts are any good!
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8-08-2008 @ 1:12PM
lisaverse said...
I've read them all and am looking forward to the movie. If you're looking for a serious read, they're not for you. But if you're looking for something fun and escapist, I recommend picking them up.
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8-08-2008 @ 1:12PM
MJ said...
I've read all the books and they are really good. I can't wait to see the robowolves.
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8-08-2008 @ 4:19PM
Chase said...
i've read all the books (there are more than two) and loved the series, except for the latest. I completely agree that if the movies are done right they could be awesome, or complete and utter failures (ex: Eragon)
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8-08-2008 @ 4:19PM
eugene said...
My first reaction was: Holy sh!t, those books are real???
I see the ads for these books on TV everyonce in a while, and for some reason, I always figured they were joke ads, like the bumpers on Saturday Night Live.
From the description you've posted, they sound absolutely horrible... like a sci-fi channel movie of the week horrible. This can only work if they cast noah wiley and krista allen in the lead roles. Maybe a special "guest star" role of kari wuhrer as the "sexy but tough as nails" leader of the "robowolves".
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8-08-2008 @ 4:20PM
William Goss said...
Gotta say, Eugene, I like where your head's at.
8-09-2008 @ 8:24PM
Mira said...
I've read all four books, and I loved the first three, but the fourth was dreadful. The concept is awesome though and I think it will work on screen. Just hope they do it right! (as the commenter above said, please, not a repeat of what happened to Eragon).
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