Smith Ent. plans 'Nazareth' pic

Prod'n company options Campbell novel

Producer Greg Smith's Smith Entertainment has optioned Ramsey Campbell's haunted-house novel "Nazareth Hill" and assigned two-time Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist Todd Ludy to adapt the novel into a feature screenplay.

"Nazareth" concerns a dictatorial widower, his teenage daughter and their move into a gloomy apartment building converted from a centuries-old mental asylum.

Brian Schiffer, Smith Entertainment VP of creative affairs, brought the book to the attention of Smith.

Campbell, winner of both the British and World Fantasy Awards, was repped by the UTA book department and Kay McCauley of Pimlico. Ludy was repped by attorney Stephen F. Huff of Pryor, Cashman, Sherman and Flynn.