Neil Gaiman’s having a heck of a week. Promotion has gone full steam ahead for Coraline, depriving the original book’s author of some sleep. On top of that, Gaiman was awakened Monday morning to the news that his latest novel, The Graveyard Book, had won the Newberry Medal (check out Gaiman’s write-up of his experience on his blog).
The Newberry isn’t the only good news for Gaiman’s latest novel. The author also revealed during a press junket for Coraline that the movie adaptation of The Graveyard Book has picked up a writer and director. Neil Jordan of Interview with a Vampire and The Company of Wolves fame (and, more recently, Breakfast on Pluto and The Brave One fame) has the gig, reports AICN.
Jordan will have a rough job adapting the novel, which tells the coming of age story of a boy named Nobody, who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard after the death of his family. The story is fantastic, but is spread out over quite a few years and told through chapters that are essentially shorter stories rather than one long narrative. Then again, successful movie versions have been made of The Jungle Book, which Gaiman’s novel resembles in theme and structure. I have to admit I really like the idea of the man behind the underappreciated Company of Wolves taking on Bod’s story, although I would expect the teen-targeted story wouldn’t be nearly as dark. I have to wonder what they'll call the movie version, since The Graveyard Book isn't exactly an appropriate title once the story leaves the printed form (yes, it's Wednesday and I'm that easily entertained... good news for this weekend's new releases).
