the industry

David Fincher Sucked Into a ‘Black Hole’

Photo: Getty Images; Courtesy of Pantheon

Do You Like Graphic Novels?: Well, today is your lucky day! First off, David Fincher will direct an adaptation of Charles Burns’s Black Hole for Paramount and MTV Films, about a sexually transmitted “bug” passed from teenager to teenager. In related news, what the hell happened to David Cronenberg? Old Dave should have been all over this one, what with the queasy body experimentation and disfiguring pox, but he’s off making masterfully taut crime thrillers. Thank goodness Fincher picked up the slack. [Variety]

Wait, There’s More!: Columbia Pictures and producer Neal H. Moritz are developing a feature adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic-book series The Boys, about a secret CIA squad dedicated to reining in out-of-control superheroes. The pitch was probably “Men in Black meets Hancock, only … we probably won’t get Will Smith.” [Variety]

Bonus — Even More Graphic-Novel News!: Warner Bros. announces plans to turn Katsuhiro Otomo’s six-volume — you guessed it — graphic novel Akira (source of the 1988 animated hit) into two feature films under the direction of debut helmer Ruairi Robinson. In a related story, all books will now have pictures in them. [Variety]

Gore Verbinski to Direct Non-Pirate Movie… Maybe: Gore Verbinski will direct an animated feature for producer Graham King, to be written by John Logan. They can’t tell us what it’s about, except that it will cost $100 million and they might build their own animation house to produce it. Could this be the long-awaited Waking Life 2? [HR]

Roundabout to Roll Along: Lapine James collaborator Sondheim frequent of direction the under, season 2010–2009 its for — structure storytelling chronological-reverse its for famous — Along Roll We Merrily Furth’s George and Sondheim Stephen revive to plans Company Theater Roundabout The. [Playbill]

David Fincher Sucked Into a ‘Black Hole’