nick wechsler Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Is there a Joe Hill story that isn't optioned right now? I think even the ones unfinished on his laptop are optioned. Combine his name with that of his famous father, Stephen King, and it probably doesn't even have to have more than an opening sentence.

According to Variety, Throttle, the novella Hill co-authored with King, has been optioned by Nick Wechsler. It won't be published until 2009, in an anthology titled He Is Legend that will be dedicated to Richard Matheson. The story follows a father and son, members of a motorcycle gang, who are being chased by an 18-wheeler tanker truck.

I love the idea that man's origins are with aliens. I love the concept in "non-fiction" books of UFO lore. I love it in my favorite books, Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I even loved it in Mission to Mars, which was only redeemed for me by that too-expository reveal at the end. Hopefully, the next Indiana Jones movie will also be dealing with the idea. But if not, I can at least look forward to Ocean, an adaptation of Warren Ellis' DC/Wildstorm comic mini-series (now available as a graphic novel), which has just been optioned by producers Gianni Nunnari (300) and Nick Wechsler (The Fountain). I haven't read the title (I would have if I'd known about it -- I'm going to buy it asap), but Wechsler told Variety the comic is, "an alien thriller with a fresh take on the origin of man." From what I can tell, it's the usual, plausible (IMHO) notion that an alien race deposited its seed on Earth and we are the result.

According to the Wikipedia synopsis, Ocean is set 100 years in the future, when alien artifacts are discovered on Europa, the ice-covered moon of Jupiter. Because some of these artifacts appear to be weapons of mass destruction, an inspector from the UN is sent to investigate. Unfortunately, the alien race is still around, only cryogenically dormant, and of course thanks to an evil corporation (apparently modeled after Microsoft) manages to wake up the violent creatures. Sure, it sounds a lot like the plot of Alien, but there's obviously more political allegory in this that makes it more relevant to current events. I also think the relationship between humans and this ancient warlike race, which happen to be our ancestors, is pretty interesting -- especially with the idea that these grandfathers might return in the form of an alien invasion. Hopefully, the movie will retain all these layers of contemplation and we'll get a much-needed deep-thinking sci-fi tale.

Talk about a hot author as of late, Cormac McCarthy's books are slowly being snatched up by Hollywood and transformed into feature films. Back in 2002, there was All the Pretty Horses, the Coen Bros. just wrapped production on No Country for Old Men and Blood Meridien is also slated for adaptation duties. Now, producer Nick Wechsler has rolled the dice and picked up film rights for what could be McCarthy's most controversial book yet, The Road.

Wechsler will use independent financing to put together the pic, which already has John Hillcoat (The Proposition) onboard to help develop and eventually direct. But why is it so controversial? Well, according to Variety's description, story revolves around a "post-apocalyptic nightmarish road trip of a man who tries to transport his son to safety while fending off starving stragglers and marauding packs of cannibals." Yeah, it appears the whole cannibal angle scared off potential studios, and so Wechsler set out to package this puppy up on the outside, something he's already used to. He says, "I've done quite a few movies lately this way, and it gives you the creative freedom and a more promising upside, especially on the DVD front."

While I haven't read it, I think the book sounds pretty fantastic -- kind of a mix between Dawn of the Dead and War of the Worlds -- though I imagine the budget will be kept fairly low, which means talent will have to come cheap. Anyone out there read the book? Care to share your opinion?