Thriller ‘Here and Gone’ Lands At Random House Studio In First Project With China’s Meridian; James Schamus To Co-Produce
EXCLUSIVE: Random House Studio, the production company behind the critically acclaimed Reservation Road a few years ago, just acquired the book Here and Gone as a basis for a feature film with James Schamus co-producing through his company Symbolic Exchange. The project, which is said to be very much in the vein of the box office hit Gone Girl and also with a strong female protagonist, is the first feature to come from the deal announced last week in which FremantleMedia North America bought Penguin Random House’s Random House Studio and teamed with China’s Meridian Entertainment to produce movies and TV shows.
Meridian will be financing Here and Gone, which will be published next year through Crown Publishing (a subsidiary of Random House) and which is earmarked to get a major push as the publisher sees it as a potential best-seller.
Written pseudonymously by an author who is going by the name Haylen Beck, Here and Gone is about a woman who is fleeing from her husband with her two children when she gets arrested. During this time, her children suddenly go missing and she is forced to fight to not only clear her name but in the process find her children.
“We’re thrilled that we were able to acquire Here and Gone,” Peter Gethers, President of Random House Studio told Deadline. “We think it’s a very strong property and will make a great film.” Other films in development at the company include Longbourn and The Silent Land.
Schamus, of course, is the oft-nominated writer whose credits are long and impressive — Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Ice Storm as well as the upcoming The King’s Daughter. His directorial debut, Indignation, is being released tomorrow in limited release via Roadside Attractions.
The film rights deal were negotiated by Avy Eschenasy for Random House Studio, Symbolic Exchange and Meridian Entertainment with Joel Gotler who negotiated on behalf of the writer through Intellectual Property Group (IPG). Nat Sobel sold the book to Nathan Roberson at Crown.
Related stories
'Jason Bourne' Review: Matt Damon Is Back On The Run - And That's A Very Good Thing
Adrianne Palicki Stars In Seth MacFarlane Fox Series, Scott Grimes Co-Stars
Rosamund Pike, Daniel Bruhl And Vincent Cassel In Talks To Board Jose Padilha's 'Entebbe'
Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
