The Jim Henson Company has acquired the rights to Stacey O’Brien’s bestselling memoir Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl, with Dolphin Tale co-writer Karen Janszen attached to pen the adaptation.
Wesley recounts the true story of young Caltech biologist Stacey O’Brien. In 1985, Stacey is asked by her mentor to raise Wesley, a baby barn owl with a wing injury that will prevent it from surviving in the wild. What’s intended to be an objective study of owl behavior blossoms into a unique, hilarious and incredible story of discovery, persistence and love spanning 19 years.
Described as part Marley & Me, part Fly Away Home, Wesley dives inside the one-of-a-kind relationship between “an owl and his girl” and redefines expectations of what it means to love, to survive and, ultimately, to become whole. When O’Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the...
Wesley recounts the true story of young Caltech biologist Stacey O’Brien. In 1985, Stacey is asked by her mentor to raise Wesley, a baby barn owl with a wing injury that will prevent it from surviving in the wild. What’s intended to be an objective study of owl behavior blossoms into a unique, hilarious and incredible story of discovery, persistence and love spanning 19 years.
Described as part Marley & Me, part Fly Away Home, Wesley dives inside the one-of-a-kind relationship between “an owl and his girl” and redefines expectations of what it means to love, to survive and, ultimately, to become whole. When O’Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the...
- 4/10/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Ld Entertainment has signed on to produce and finance Santa School, a Karen Janszen-scripted family film. Patrick Aiello is producing with Ld Entertainment CEO Mickey Liddell, and Pete Shilaimon. The film has elements of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, in that Santa Claus is confirmed to be real, and he wants to retire. That leads to a lengthy search for a worthy replacement. Aiello, who is producing As Above, So Below for Legendary, hatched the concept. Jennifer Monroe and Patrick Raymond will oversee for Ld Entertainment. The company began by acquiring finished films, but now is branching into production. Janszen’s script credits include A Walk To Remember, Duma, Gracie and Dolphin Tale. She’s separately adapting the Ingrid Law novel Savvy at Walden Media. She’s repped by Gersh and Rain Management.
- 9/17/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Myst, the top selling computer adventure game franchise of all-time, wouldn't seem to be a likely candidate for a film adaptation. As popular as it is, the format of the games—a non-linear narrative requiring you to explore and progress through mysterious environments by pointing-and-clicking—doesn't conveniently lend itself to the film medium. But has that ever stopped anyone in Hollywood before? Partnered with producers Hunt Lowry (Duma, The Last of the Mohicans) and Mark Johnson (Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, The Chronicles of Narnia), Mysteria Film Group has optioned the rights for Myst for a live-action film. Learn more after the break. Deadline reports that the film will partially focus on "the influence of a human who entered Myst and inadvertently brought down the civilization", while also drawing on the plot from the mythology that's been built up over the course of the games. Easing the burden of...
- 9/30/2010
- by Adam Quigley
- Slash Film
DreamWorks' Academy Award-nominated Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Miramax Films' An Unfinished Life and Warner Bros. Pictures' Duma are among the entertainment titles to be honored at the 20th anniversary Genesis Awards, set for March 18 at the Beverly Hilton. Presented by the Hollywood Office of the Humane Society of the United States, the Genesis Awards recognize positive treatment of animal issues in the news and entertainment media.
- 2/17/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Courtenay Valenti has been promoted to executive vp production at Warner Bros. Pictures. She will continue to report to president of production Jeff Robinov as she acquires, develops and supervises the production of movies for the studio. Valenti joined Warners in 1989 as a creative executive and became vp production in 1991, eventually moving up to senior vp production in 1996. She has overseen the development and production of such Warners releases as You've Got Mail, A Walk to Remember, The Iron Giant and Queen of the Damned. Upcoming films in which she is involved include A Very Long Engagement, The Phantom of the Opera, Duma, Class Action, Happy Feet and The Ant Bully. "Courtenay is a tremendous executive and a great asset to our company," Robinov said. "She's got great taste in material and a gift for bringing out the best in filmmakers throughout the creative process. Her relationships and judgment have been invaluable to us, and I'm happy to congratulate her on this well-earned new title." Valenti began her career at Lehman Bros. in New York and segued into entertainment as an assistant to filmmaker Tony Bill.
- 7/28/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Carroll Ballard, who most recently directed the 1996 feature Fly Away Home, has come aboard to helm How It Was With Dooms for Warner Bros. Pictures' Gaylord Films/Pandora and John Wells Prods. A spring start in Africa is being planned. The project is based on the book How It Was With Dooms: A True Story From Africa, by Carol Cawthra Hopcraft and Xan Hopcraft. It follows a young boy living in Nairobi, Kenya, and the special relationship he enjoys with an orphaned cheetah named Dooms, who becomes the family pet. The story is told through the boy's eyes. Carol Flint adapted the screenplay, with a rewrite by Karen Janszen and a production polish to be done by Mark St. Germain. Producing the project are John Wells and Hunt Lowry. Stacy Cohen and Kristin Harms are executive producing.
- 11/19/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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