Chris Weitz, one-half of American Pie's Weitz brothers, tackling his first solo gig.
American Pie co-director Chris Weitz may be getting his first shot at an effects-driven film. Weitz, who generally helms films with his brother Paul, has started negotiations to take solo directing reigns on New Line Cinema's His Dark Materials, an adaptation of the Philip Pullman award-winning fantasy book series. Should a deal be completed, it's likely that the Weitz brothers' Depth of Field production banner would come on board in some producing capacity.
Tom Stoppard adapted the first book in the series of three, The Golden Compass, and Weitz will now rework the material that he will direct. The story centers on two children, living in parallel universes, who have to fight off witches, armored polar bears and other effects-heavy creatures. Described as being darker in tone than the Harry Potter books, the series explores childhood, innocence and sin, while combining elements of magic and theology.
Although Pullman penned two more books in the series, The Subtle Compass and The Amber Spyglass, it's unclear whether the studio will make two or three films in the franchise. Amber, which became the first children's book to win Britain's coveted Whitbread Award, is largely considered a tough adaptation, and New Line may just combine elements from the final two installments into one film.
Deborah Forte of Scholastic is producing, with Toby Emmerich and Mark Ordesky heading up the development of the project for New Line.
Weitz, repped by WMA, is best known for his work directing the first American Pie film and producing all three in the franchise. More recently, however, the Weitz brothers have tackled more sophisticated comedies such as About a Boy and Down to Earth. Paul Weitz is currently busy on his first solo effort, Synergy, starring Dennis Quaid. Although the two are both taking on solo gigs, they will, for the most part, continue to helm films together.
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