If there's one thing you can count on it's Hollywood following crazy trends in the hopes of finding the next big cinematic diamond mine. Harry Potter has literally made billions of dollars for Warner Bros. and other studios are desperate (and I do mean desperate) to tap into anything they think might possibly do the same for them. They seem to be missing the fact that if you tap a mine for diamonds without waiting long enough, all you end up with is coal.
Paramount Pictures is so frantic to find their own version of Potter that they're buying up rights to books that haven't even been published yet. Empire Online has reported that Paramount has purchased film rights to a new children's novel by Charlie Fletcher entitled "StoneHeart". The book won't hit shelves until September.
The story circulates around the idea that somewhere in London there exists a power capable of bringing architectural gargoyles and statues of famous dead people to life. No word yet on whether or not it involves a mythical lion roaming the streets breathing on them.
Doom producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and Lemony Snickets producer Scott Rudin have teamed up to push the film through after having a chance to read an early copy of the text. Di Bonaventura had this to say on the matter: "This is the way to do The Wizard Of Oz in England. We’re setting our goals high… It’s a very visual piece.". I'm not sure what he means by that but I'd say it's the one too many viewings of Doom talking.
Harry Potter had a huge following amongst young (and young at heart) readers long before he made his way to the big screen. I don't understand how Paramount hopes to get the same kind of success out of a book that no one's even read yet. Meanwhile we still don't have a decent Henry Huggins film. If you kids don't know who I'm talking about, put down your Potter book (there's no reason to read it for a ninth time) and go read "Ribsy".
