Coraline, the 2009 stop-motion animated film from director Henry Selick based on the book by Neil Gaiman, is an absolutely brilliant film. In addition to being almost excessively beautiful, the film contains many rich, complex and important themes while also perfectly blending comedy and horror tones. Selick and Gaiman proved that they were a match made in heaven, which made it all the more exciting when it was said that they would be re-teaming for a stop-motion adaptation of Gaiman's book The Graveyard Book. Sadly, however, there was a great deal of drama with Disney during the summer of last year over scheduling and development, and the project was eventually to rest. But now it looks as though it's being resurrected - and in a completely new form.
The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Disney is now planning to make The Graveyard Book as a live-action movie and the studio is now in talks with Ron Howard to direct. Should the Oscar winning director sign on he will oversee the writing of a new draft of the screenplay and could also come aboard as a producer along with partner Brian Grazer. For those unfamiliar with the children's novel, the story follows a young boy named Nobody Owens who is raised in a graveyard by ghosts after his family is murdered and finds himself in danger again as a teen when his parents' killer, "a being named The Man Jack,” returns for him.
As noted by the trade, the book became the first ever to win both the Carnegie and Newbery medals for best children’s books when it was released back in 2008.
