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One of my favorite literary characters, Repairman Jack, is coming to the big screen next year. The first novel he appeared in, The Tomb, has been optioned by Hollywood on and off for the better part of two decades now, but this time it is the real deal. I had heard last year that Beacon Films had bought the film rights but I wasn't holding my breath. It turns out to be the real deal, though. Disney/Touchstone/Buena Vista will be distributing the film, which is budgeted in the $75-80 million range and set for a summer 2004 release. The final script is in and everybody including F. Paul Wilson himself loves it. There are four directors interested in the project, and casting info is still under wraps. The interiors will be shot in either Australia, Romania, or Canada with location shoots in both New York City and Bombay.
The big question for me: will the movie keep the aggressively downbeat ending? Of course at the end of the day the evil forces are deafeated, but at the end of the book Jack is left mortally wounded. A good ending if the movie turns into a franchise (as the studio hopes), but still pretty rough. F. Paul Wilson has a way of ending stories where good more or less triumphs over evil but at a terrible price. It's one of the reasons I love his writing.
The big question for me: will the movie keep the aggressively downbeat ending? Of course at the end of the day the evil forces are deafeated, but at the end of the book Jack is left mortally wounded. A good ending if the movie turns into a franchise (as the studio hopes), but still pretty rough. F. Paul Wilson has a way of ending stories where good more or less triumphs over evil but at a terrible price. It's one of the reasons I love his writing.