The Lovely Bones (film)

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The Lovely Bones
Directed by	Peter Jackson
Written by	Alice Sebold (Novel) Peter Jackson (screenplay) Fran Walsh (screenplay)
IMDb profile

The Lovely Bones is the film adaptation of the best selling novel of the same name by Alice Sebold. It is to be directed by Peter Jackson for a 2008 release.

Contents 1 Premise 2 Development 3 Synopsis 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Premise

Fourteen year-old Susie Salmon is raped, murdered and dismembered. Over the next few years, from a personalized heaven that takes the form of a high school she never lived to attend and its suburban surroundings, she watches her family and friends deal with their grief, her killer escape justice and go on to kill again and tries to reach a sense of closure herself, with the help of others with whom she becomes acquainted.

[edit] Development

Most studios passed on the novel before it became a bestseller, finding its premise doubtful and unlikely to make for a commercially hot property. But two producers, Aimée Peyronnet and James Wilson, at the British studio FilmFour Productions, saw potential, and bought the rights for what Sebold described as a figure so low that her agent got up and walked around the room when she told him.

Sales figures proved them correct, and by early 2003 Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay was writing the screenplay, reportedly excited to be making her American debut.

However, Film Four soon encountered financial difficulties which left it nearly bankrupt. The rights to Bones were a way out of this, and they ended up in the hands of Peter Jackson, fresh from his Lord of the Rings success, by the end of the year. Sometime early in 2004, Ramsay either left the project or was eased out, depending on who told the story, clearing the way for Jackson to direct the film himself. A year after that, she told an interviewer that "it was also such a well-loved book that I didn't want everyone talking about the difference between the book and the film."^[1]

There were rumors that Steven Spielberg, whose DreamWorks studio was initially involved, had orchestrated this turn of events as a way to eventually land the project himself, since it was well-known that Jackson had committed to the remake of King Kong, not set to start filming until that September, and he might well change his mind in the meantime and find another project.^{[citation needed]}

However, Jackson took personal possession of the rights and said he would indeed make the film, that in fact he would be looking forward to doing a smaller, more intimate film after the epics of Lord of the Rings and King Kong and it would mark a return to territory he had previously explored in Heavenly Creatures. He is currently working on the script with his regular collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens (Wilson and Peyronnet are still listed as producers); the film is not expected to be released until 2008. They have decided not to accept any studio financing until the script is complete.^[2]

Jackson confirmed he has written a 120 page first draft. Filming will most likely take place in the Norristown area (Pennsylvania) and New Zealand. Jackson has also stated that they will wait until they have a definitive start date before making casting decisions. ^[3]

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• The Lovely Bones
• Alice Sebold

Films Directed by Peter Jackson
Bad Taste • Meet the Feebles • Braindead • Heavenly Creatures • Forgotten Silver • The Frighteners • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King • King Kong • The Lovely Bones