Producer Joe Roth does enjoy his fairy-tale reimaginings. His recent films including Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Huntsman, Oz the Great and Powerful, and the upcoming Maleficent, which is the tale of Sleeping Beauty told from the villain's perspective. Since Alice and Oz were both monster hits, it's not surprise that Roth is now planning another fairy-tale* movie. According to Deadline, Roth has picked up the rights for Soman Chainani's new young adult novel, The School for Good and Evil. The story takes place in a school where students are chosen and trained to become heroes or villains. The beautiful Sophie expects to be a princess in the School for Good while her homely best friend Agatha readies herself to be a witch in the School for Evil. But when they arrive, their roles are reversed. It sounds like a fun premise that's reminiscent of the opening of Wicked. The book is the first in a planned trilogy, so Universal Pictures' seven-figure deal makes even more sense when a potential franchise is at stake.
Deadline reports that Chainani will co-write the script with her former screenwriting professor Malia Scotch Marmo (Hook). Hit the jump for the official synopsis of The School for Good and Evil.
Here's the official synopsis for Soman Chainani's The School for Good and Evil:
At the School for Good and Evil, failing your fairy tale is not an option. Welcome to the School for Good and Evil, where best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil. The two girls soon find their fortunes reversed—Sophie's dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are . . . ? The School for Good and Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one. [Amazon]
*We can quibble later about what constitutes a fairy-tale; I'll define it as a fantastical adventure originally designed to entertain children.