Sony has bought the film rights to Eruption, Michael Crichton and James Patterson’s best-selling novel, Deadline exclusively reported.
The deal is rumored to be worth seven figures, closed through an auction with several studios interested in the property.
The feature adaptation already has directors attached in Academy Award winners Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi who helmed 2018’s Free Solo. Keanu Reeves is reportedly in negotiations to star, but there have been no deals closed yet.
Michael Crichton and James Patterson’s Eruption in theaters soon
The late author’s wife Sherri Crichton will serve as a producer for Crichton Sun, along with Patterson and Shane Salerno. Filmmakers China and Vasarhelyi will also produce. The directing duo made their feature film debut with last year’s Nyad which earned Oscar nominations for its stars Annette Bening and Jodie Foster.
Crichton spent 20 years writing Eruption before he died in 2008. The story follows a historic volcano explosion that threatens to destroy Hawai’i. However, the US military is keeping a secret that may prove deadlier than any volcano.
The novel’s film rights were offered in early May. Sherri found her husband’s writing, notes and research after his death. She then asked Patterson to finish the book.
The book, released early last month, hit the top of Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple and The New York Times Bestseller lists. Both Crichton and Patterson have a combined worldwide book sales of 700 million. Crichton has had several of his heavily researched and science-based novels adapted into films and TV series.
These include 1971’s The Andromeda Strain, 1973’s Westworld, 1993’s Jurassic Park and Rising Sun, 1994’s Disclosure, 1995’s Congo, 1996’s Twister Jurassic Park’s 1997 sequel The Lost World, 1998’s Sphere and the hit television series ER. All together, his work has earned more than $10 billion at the box office worldwide. His Westworld film was also the basis of the HBO series of the same title.
A Crichton revival
The late author’s work is currently enjoying a revival. Universal and Warner Bros. will release the sequel Twisters, starring Glenn Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. Crichton produced and co-wrote the original 1996 film starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. Universal and Amblin are in production filming Jurassic World 4, also based on Crichton’s books, with Scarlett Johansson attached to star.
For his work on Jurassic Park and The Lost World, a genus of the extinct herbivorous armored dinosaur ankylosaurid named after the author, Crichtonpelta. There is another previous designation, Crichtonsaurus, but is considered a nomen dubium or a scientific name of unknown or doubtful application.
Patterson, on the other hand, is most famous for his Alex Cross series of novels. These have been adapted into films and most recently, a Prime Video series starring Aldis Hodge.
The author holds the record for having the most number of number one New York Times bestsellers by a single author, 67. According to USA Today, his books account for one in 17, approximately 17%, of all hardcover books sold in the US. He has also sold more copies of his novels than Stephen King, John Grisham and Dan Brown combined.
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