Norwegian author Jo Nesbo is having one hell of a run lately. Back in November we told you that Martin Scorsese had signed on to direct the American adaptation of Nesbo's novel, The Snowman, with Matthew Michael Carnahan scripting. Now another of Nesbo's novels will be getting the big-screen American movie treatment. Deadline reports that Sacha Gervasi (The Terminal) has been hired by Summit to adapt Nesbo's Headhunters.
The novel's protagonist is a headhunter -- the job-finding kind, not the head-shrinking kind -- who uses the access his job provides to steal artwork from his clients. Unfortunately, one of his jobs goes bad, as they are wont to do, and "the headhunter finds himself in over his head and caught up in a murderous scheme." Since getting a U.S. publication courtesy of Doubleday, Headhunters has become a bestseller. It was also made into a Norwegian movie by Yellow Bird Films, who are also involved in the English-language version.
European mystery novels are big business for Yellow Bird. They also produced both the original Swedish adaptations of Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy," beginning with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and the upcoming English version directed by David Fincher.
At this rate, don't be surprised if you see more of Jo Nesbo's back catalogue getting their movie rights snatched up. There's no shortage; the Edgar Award-nominated author has written over a dozen novels, including two different ongoing series.
Sacha Gervasi is also directing Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of "Psycho", which is set to star Helen Mirren and possibly Anthony Hopkins.
