The success of turning the “Harry Potter” and “Chronicles of Narnia” books into money-making movie machines has resulted in almost every kid’s fantasy series ever written getting a look-see by a major studio. The latest series to sell-out to the bring screen is “Children of the Lamp” by P.B. Kerr. Variety reports that Dreamworks will be hitching their star (or moon) to the magical tales.
Kerr’s British books are about a family of genies who pass for human but can grant wishes. Not having read the series, I’ll have to guess that there are some limitations, there always are. These genies, called djinn to make them seem more unique, probably don’t solve world problems or make people fall in love.
The movie (or movies) will be produced by Nina Jacobson, the former head of Walt Disney Motion Pictures and the script will be written by Lee Hall. Hall got an Oscar nomination for his script for Billy Elliot, which is promising. Here's hoping the story gets the focus and not cheesy special effects.
