John Grisham Wants His Own 'Testament'
After resisting overtures for a decade, a best-selling author received an offer he couldn't refuse. John Grisham has finally allowed his 1999 novel The Testament to be optioned, according to Variety. Grisham will have "the right to provide creative input, which he didn't always have in the past -- one of the factors that pushed him away from Hollywood until about three years ago, when his fans prodded him to end his self-imposed movie moratorium."
The Testament revolves around a self-made billionaire who leaves his entire fortune to his illegitimate daughter, a young woman who lives and works "with a primitive tribe of Indians in the deepest jungles of Brazil." An attorney who's seen better days helps her battle the billionaire's relatives for the fortune. Producer Mark Johnson says: "It had the best of the courthouse stuff that John writes so well, plus this exotic adventure in deepest Brazil."
It's been six years since Runaway Jury hit the screens, so is the time right for more big-screen Grisham? I jumped off the Grisham bandwagon after The King of Torts, which had a smug, off-putting, moralistic tone; his formula -- idealistic young hero / heroine fights the corrupt system -- felt stale and predictable. If nothing else, Grisham's books offer the comfort of familiarity. Legal thrillers, the more formulaic the better, are a Hollywood staple, and usually attract a dependable audience. Shia LaBeouf is attached to The Associate, his latest best-seller, and others are in development. Will Grisham's creative input on The Testament result in a better movie?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-24-2009 @ 12:03AM
Adam said...
grisham was right to boycott...the book runaway jury was about a lawsuit against big tobacco...the movie was about guns...it didn't even make sense...the only reason they didn't make it about tobacco was because of the movie, "the insider." i wonder if grisham was ok with the subject matter change...i wasn't.
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6-24-2009 @ 12:38AM
Byrdo said...
I always hoped that The Partner would be made into a movie--its my fav by Grisham and one of my fav books in general. check it out if you havent read it.
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6-24-2009 @ 2:15PM
M. L Kiner said...
"The Hong Kong Connection" is a legal thriller about a gutsy female attorney who takes on high ranking International officials. It's a taut, rollercoaster of a ride from New York to Palm Beach to Washington D.C. to Hong Kong. The plot is expertly woven, the characters persuasive, and the dialogue snappy and spot on.
www.StrategicBookPublishing.com/TheHongKongConnection.html
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6-27-2009 @ 12:12AM
DeAnn said...
The Testament was the first John Grisham book I read 10 years ago and have now read all of them. It has always been my favorite. I'm glad its finally being made into a movie and that Mr Grisham will have creative input. Do we know who might be in the movie?
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