The town slogan for Colma, California is “It’s great to be alive in Colma.” Strangely enough, only a small fraction of the town actually is. Author Doug Dorst wrote a novel that takes place in the town of Colma, which holds the burial ground to about 1.5 million people, and David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith of KatzSmith Productions have purchased the movie rights.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the novel follows a rookie detective who works in the Northern California city, which is known for being the area’s “go-to place for burials,” though there is a small percentage of people who actually live there.

Alive in Necropolis is a said to be a murder mystery about the young cop who is either crazy or actually encountering the spirits of some of the less-alive people who live within the city limits. The producers are apparently looking to give the film a “Chinatown or Se7en vibe. As the book is described as a “noirish detective story,” when factoring in the Chinatown and Se7en references, added to the potentially supernatural element, it's likely that we can expect a darker tone to the film, should the project make it to the big screen.

I’m curious to hear from people who have read the book. Do you think the story will work well for the movie? Any ideas for casting the lead character?