Miramax kids with Chabon
Rosenthal, Robert De Niro to produce 'Summerland'
It marks the second high-profile partnership between Miramax and Tribeca on a Talk Miramax-bought children's tale (the first was fairy novel "Artemis Fowl" by Irish author Eoin Colfer).
"Summerland" drew high interest in the publishing circuit and in Hollywood after "Wonder Boys" and the critical acclaim afforded Chabon's latest novel, "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" (which he's now adapting for producer Scott Rudin and Paramount).
Fantasy novel, about baseball and the battle between good and evil in a world that includes fairies and werefoxes, was sold to Talk Miramax editor-in-chief Jonathan Burnham on the basis of a three-page synopsis and two chapters. While studios mobilized to bid on screen rights for the "Harry Potter"-like tale, Chabon's reps (CAA, lit agent Mary Evans and attorney David Colden) gave Miramax an exclusive chance to make the first bid. Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein quickly sealed the deal.
Chabon, who created the TNT series pilot "Telegraph Avenue" and is in the early stages of his next adult novel, will have "Summerland" completed by November.
