News

Movie News

Recently Becky and I were joking that I should get a button made: “Don’t ask me about the movie.” I get so many questions about the movie every time I do an event. I can pretty much script how each conversation will start. The first question is always, “Is it true they’re going to make a movie?” The second question, invariably, is “How much control do you have over the project?” (The answer to the second question, by the way, is zero, though I’ll get to read the script and make suggestions.)

Unfortunately movie news is scarce and infrequent. Every bit of information is like a drop of water in the desert – it evaporates on contact, and people immediately want more. The most recent tidbit: director Chris Columbus has hired a screenwriter to help with the script and they are apparently deep into their draft. The screenwriter is Craig Titley, whose produced credits include the movies “Cheaper by the Dozen” and “Scooby Doo.” We’ll see how it goes. I’m guessing the script will be done by the fall. This is also when the option expires, so they’ll need to make a decision by that point whether they are purchasing or renegotiating the option. Fox has assured me that the movie is definitely happening and they will purchase the rights. Again, we’ll just have to wait and see. Like writing a book, movies take a very long time. When I hear something new, I will post it here, but news only comes about once every four months, so don’t hold your breath!

Meanwhile, the Percy Jackson series continues its run on the New York Times children series bestseller list. In its thirteenth week, Percy Jackson is #2, right behind you-know-who!

Rick Riordan