Neil Jordan to write and direct Gaiman's THE GRAVEYARD BOOK!

by Matt Holmes

Neil Gaiman has announced on The Today Show that THE CRYING GAME and INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE helmer Neil Jordan will write and direct a live action adaptation of his latest masterpiece THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. The book follows a boy raised by ghosts who must face the wonders and terrors of both the living and the dead. Gaiman will produce the feature and Framestone Pictures, the guys who did the Two-Face visual effects in THE DARK KNIGHT, will handle the special effects. the-greave

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other. This chilling tale is Neil Gaiman's first full-length novel for middle-grade readers since the internationally bestselling and universally acclaimed Coraline. Like Coraline, this book is sure to enchant and surprise young readers as well as Neil Gaiman's legion of adult fans.
The plan is to find well known Brit actors to fill out most of the cast (like HARRY POTTER) but the lead role of Nobody Owens is likely to be played by multiple unknown actors of various ages. Man I was kinda hoping the property would fall in Tim Burton or Henry Selick's hands (especially Selick with how CORALINE is shaping up) but hey, Jordan is a seasoned pro and Gaiman's had great luck with British directors adapting his work so far, at least in terms of the films quality over their respective box office returns (STARDUST, MIRRORMASK). And Selick wanted to go stop-motion with this book but for me it's crying out for something more epic and with flesh, basically. The guy who gave us INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE is a very, very, very solid choice for this. via - Geeks of Doom!
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Matt Holmes is the co-founder of What Culture, formerly known as Obsessed With Film. He has been blogging about pop culture and entertainment since 2006 and has written over 10,000 articles.