Mary Harron came into the film world in a blaze of glory. With a one-two punch of the colorful “I Shot Andy Warhol” followed up with the contemporary classic “American Psycho,” it seemed that the director was a vibrant, exciting new voice, but her subsequent efforts failed to live up to that promise. “The Notorious Betty Page” was a sturdy, if not particularly memorable biopic and since then she’s padded out her television directing CV and has a Canadian vampire flick, “The Moth Diaries,” in post-production right now. But it looks like Harron is going to get her first taste of potential franchise fare.
Deadline reports that Universal has tapped the director to take on an adaptation of Melissa Marr‘s “Wicked Lovely.” The first entry in a five book series, the story centers on “a young teen named Aislinn, who has seen dangerous faeries her entire life but has managed to survive by adhering to a strict set of rules that have kept her safe…until now. The 17-year-old finds herself torn between a seductive Faery king and the mortal she loves, and she must go against everything she was taught in order to confront a world she was raised to fear.” So yeah, not exactly our cup of tea but there is more interesting talent behind the film.
Caroline Thompson (“Edward Scissorhands,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Corpse Bride,” “The Addams Family“) has written the script and she certainly knows her way around fantasy material so this could definitely have much more than meets the eye. Curiously, Vince Vaughn‘s Wild West Picture Show shingle is producing.
No word on when this will lens but considering the book series wrapped in February, we’d guess the studio will want to move fast to capture that audience before interest fades.
