I just finished reading Leigh Bardugo‘s ‘Shadow and Bone’ novel recently, and I absolutely loved it.  So, knowing that the movie rights were sold, that the possibility of it being made into an actual movie, just sends me geeky goosebumps all over.  I guess you can say that I’m excited for the possibility.

Now here’s the latest news to come about from it.  The DreamWorks bought adaptation has a writer for the screenplay!

Christopher Kyle is in negotiations to adapt Shadow and Bone, DreamWorks’ adaptation of the YA fantasy from Leigh Bardugo.

Harry Potter producer David Heyman is producing, as is Jeffrey Clifford (Up in the Air).

Christopher Kyle, you say?  Who’s Christopher Kyle?  Well, let’s see…

Kyle, repped by ICM Partners and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, penned K-19: Widowmaker and co-wrote The Weight of Water, both of which were directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and worked on Oliver Stone’s Alexander, which starred Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie.

Last year, he adapted Ron Rash’s novel Serena, which shot with Susanne Bier behind the camera and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence top-lining the period drama. The picture is in the midst of seeking a distributor.

Making the announcement that they have a screenwriter along with the two producers is a good thing if you want to see progress in the development part of the movie-making process.  However, when they listed the writers credits, my mouth twisted awkwardly in a distressing manner.  

You see, from what’s he’s listed as writing, I’ve only seen Stone’s ‘Alexander,’ and let me just say that that movie is not particularly in my “favorite movies” category.  Actually, it’s pretty much in the opposite spectrum of my list of categories, which is so not good.  

Also, he doesn’t have a very extensive credits list on IMDB, so it would seem that he’s still fairly new to this whole movie thing.  What’s odd is that his scripts have been through the hands of very well-respected actors, so it’s odd to think that his scripts don’t attract.  Still, this history of Kyle’s doesn’t bode well for my feelings about how this movie could end up for DreamWorks, or the fans of the book in general.  

I’d like to think that it’s the the sum of its parts that make or break a movie, or anything else for that matter, so it would be unfair for me to think that the writer will kill the movie.  However, in a way, it can, especially if the writer doesn’t take care to respect the original source material, and when it comes to books, that’s a very important matter to respect.   Many movies suffered from such a thing, and so even though the attraction of turning YA literature into the “next big hit” is strong right now, the demand from the readers to keep close to the source material is still very strong, no matter if a previous movie was able to be successful despite straying every once in a while from the originals (Yes, David Heyman, I’m talking to you, too).  And it starts with the writing.  

What I’m saying that I just really hope, and will continue to do so for each book-to-movie adaptation, they Christopher keeps that in mind when he writes this book out.  The big things are easy to remember, but the little things are what make the story unique.   

Here’s a little synopsis of the book: 

The first book of the intended trilogy takes place in a land under attack by a swath of darkness filled with creatures that feast on human flesh. A young woman discovers she has a dormant power that could be a key to turning the tide and is taken to be trained by her country’s magical elite.

You can also read my review on ‘Shadow and Bone.’

via Hollywood Reporter.