DreamWorks has acquired the film rights to John Wyndham’s novel Chocky, with Steven Spielberg said to be keen to make it his next directorial gig. The novel deals with a youngster and mental abilities and the nature of difference, not uncommon themes for the very excellent Wyndham; while not as famous (outside science fiction circles anyway) as his better-known Day of the Triffids or the Midwich Cuckoos it is, like most of Wyndham’s work, fascinating, dealing with a young lad with a supposedly imaginary friend who turns out to be an alien presence in his mind, an alien with knowledge certain shadowy parts of the government would like to get at regardless of the cost. As the Hollywood Reporter points out, that sounds like prime territory for a Spielberg story.
Thu, Sep 25, 2008
Books, Film, TV and radio