John Grisham

THE BLIND SIDE Director John Lee Hancock to Helm John Grisham Adaptation THE PARTNER

by Matt Currie    Posted: January 27th, 2012 at 4:08 pm

Directing a Best Picture nominee (even one that’s only there because they had a few extra spaces on the ballot) will always be a sizable chip for advancing one’s career. Today comes news that The Blind Side helmer John Lee Hancock is cashing his in to write and direct New Regency’s The Partner.  It’s an adaptation of the 1997 John Grisham novel about a jaded Mississippi lawyer Patrick Lanigan who, after four years on the run, is brought back to the US to answer for a laundry list of crimes including defrauding the government; as his attorney tries to build a defense, the real story of how Patrick faked his own death, stole a bunch of money and stayed one step ahead of the folks you inevitably piss of by faking your own death and stealing lots of money is gradually revealed. Per Deadline, this will be Hancock’s next film, even if he does happen to sign on for Highwaymen, a drama about retired cops tracking down Bonnie and Clyde that he’s been kicking the tires on.

No word yet on when The Partner will be making it to the silver screen, but an ill-conceived NBC TV adaptation is probably being tentatively scheduled for 2032. Hit the jump to read a synopsis for the novel.

NBC Taking John Grisham’s THE FIRM to Television

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: April 28th, 2011 at 11:40 am

It’s been twenty years since the book was published, and nearly as long since it was turned into a feature film starrring Tom Cruise. Now John Grisham’s novel The Firm looks to be heading to TV as EW reports NBC is negotiating for a full season order (that’s 22 episodes) to adapt the book into a legal drama series. Apparently the adaptation has been in the works for awhile, and was once set up at CBS, but never got off the ground. Law & Order producer Lukas Reiter is behind the project, and Grisham will executive produce (though he won’t be writing). Seems impressive for a new series to get a full season order right out of the gate with no pilot. For those unfamiliar with the novel or the film, we’ve included a synopsis after the jump.

Tony Scott a “Step Away” from Directing Shia LaBeouf in the John Grisham Adaptation THE ASSOCIATE

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: August 4th, 2010 at 9:24 pm

At least in terms of commercial viability, you can never go wrong with a John Grisham novel.  That just might be enough to hook Tony Scott, as 24 Frames reports the Englishman is “just a step away” from signing on to direct the Grisham adaptation The Associate.  When we checked in with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura early last month, he said LaBeouf is “attached,” though the report states more definitively that the young actor “is starring.”

Following Kingdom of Heaven and Body of Lies, The Associate represents the third script that William Monahan has written for the Scott family — brother Ridley Scott directed the first two.  The plot centers on newly minted lawyer Kyle McAvoy (LaBeouf), the owner of a dark secret which falls into the wrong hands.  Hit the jump for a full synopsis.

The Unnecessary Cinematic Revival of John Grisham Continues with THE TESTAMENT

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 pm

Just because studios start adapting John Grisham books into movies again, no one is going to start thinking it’s the 90s.  That’s the plan, right?  Make people remember the roaring 90s with silly adaptations of Grisham’s substance-free airplane reads?  No?  Then…why?

I cannot find the answer to that question in the Variety article which reports that 821 Entertainment will adapt Grisham’s 1999 book, “The Testament” which is about a billionaire leaving his fortune to his illigetimate daughter (who does charity work in the Brazilian wetlands and probably makes Jesus feel insecure about his deeds) instead of his greedy relatives.  A down-and-out lawyer (who else) helps her battle her relatives over the fortune.

It turns out that the reason we haven’t seen any Grisham movies lately (unlike the 90s when there seemed to be one-per-year) is because he put a moratorium on the adaptations with one of his reasons being his lack of creative input on adaptations of his work; creative input he’ll now have for “The Testament”.  It’s a good thing too because it would be a travesty if anyone ever sullied the integrity of a John Grisham novel.

Other Grisham books currently moving through production hell are Warner Bros. adaptation of “The Innocent Man” (Grisham’s only non-fiction book and is actually quite good), Phoenix Pictures on “Playing for Pizza”, and “The Associate” with Shia LaBeouf and Lorenzo di Bonaventura currently attached.

Copyright ©2005 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. California web design