Posted by Mr. Beaks

While I'd prefer Josh Schwartz focus his creative energies on The O.C., which, over the last television season, endured the worst sophomore slump since Mark Fidrych inexplicably forgot how to pitch, I can't think of anyone more qualified to take the writing-and-directing reigns of Looking for Alaska, an adaptation of the YA novel by John Green. 

The tale of two sixteen year-old boys' tragic infatuation with Alaska Young, a wild female classmate, the narrative sounds much more in line with the surprisingly downbeat tone of The O.C.'s second season finale.  Unfortunately, the book has also been compared to A Separate Peace, a torture device wielded by ninth grade English teachers to bleed their students of any interest in creative writing. 

Variety has the rest of the story here.  Gail Berman, who set up The O.C. while President of Fox Entertainment, will produce for Paramount.