Last week, the adaptation of Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer opened to better-than-average reviews and moderate box office success. The rest of its domestic theatrical run combined with foreign results and DVD sales should turn the studio a profit, but the acclaimed, bestselling author has already moved on to his next foray into films. Paramount Pictures bought the rights to Black Ice and Black Echo decades ago, but up to this point, a serious attempt has never been made to get a film into production. In fact, many experts thought it would never happen, which is why Connelly is putting up his own money to make sure forward progress is achieved.
According to Deadline, Michael Connelly has forked over three million dollars of his own money to buy back the rights from Paramount and is now negotiating to become a partner on an adaptation with Yellow Bird Films. They’re the studio behind The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and seem a perfect fit to move forward with the author’s beloved series. If you’re never read them, Connelly’s books follow Harry Bosch, an intriguing homicide detective unwilling to let crimes go unsolved.
How Paramount failed to adapt them after so long is anyone’s guess. On the spectrum of risk/reward, this potential series could be a gem mined with little expenditure. Cop stories typically aren’t overly expensive to produce and with sixteen books already written, if the thing’s a hit, you can keep churning them out for as long as you wish.
