Fox 2000 is acquiring screen rights to Patricia Cornwell's bestselling book series on medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, to develop as a vehicle for Angelina Jolie.There are 16 Scarpetta novels, meaning a franchise is hoped for, but this film won't be tied to a specific Cornwell mystery title. Much the way that Jason Bourne morphed into an action hero in plots not rigidly locked into the Robert Ludlum book series, the opera-loving coroner Scarpetta will be the lead in a suspense thriller in the vein of "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Seven."
According to Variety the deal is a mega-marriage, with Jolie one of the most bankable female movie stars, and Cornwell one of the biggest selling female authors in the world. Cornwell, whose latest installment "Scarpetta" was published last December by Putnam, last year made a deal with Lifetime Television to adapt two non-Scarpetta novels, "At Risk" and "The Front."
Once Jolie sparked to the series, months of negotiations followed between ICM and Fox 2000's Elizabeth Gabler and Carla Hacken, because Cornwell was so protective of her literary property. The deal finally came together after Jolie and Kosinski met with the author and found common ground on the creative direction of the feature adaptation.
Jolie is starring in the Phillip Noyce-directed "Salt" for Columbia Pictures. She will reprise the voice for her Tigress character in "Kung Fu Panda" sequel and she awaits a script for a "Wanted" sequel that would potentially re-team her with director Timur Bekmambetov and James McAvoy at Universal. It will be interesting to see how they bring back her character in that sequel.
I've never read any Patricia Cornwell. If you have would they make a good film? Could it work as a new franchise?
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