Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies have homed in on Susan Orlean's New Yorker article "Little Wing," acquiring feature film rights for about $250,000.
Article in the Sporting Scene section of the current edition centers on the world of homing pigeons and a young girl who races them.
Steven Spielberg played a role in setting the project up with Par and Nick. The director was given an exclusive look Thursday and suggested the project was a perfect fit for Nickelodeon and parent studio Paramount. Also instrumental in bringing the article into the studio fold was Par production chief Gail Berman.
Shepherding are Par co-prexy of production Alli Shearmur and Nick Movies exec veep Julia Pistor.
Orlean penned book "The Orchid Thief," which was made into the Spike Jonze-helmed "Adaptation" for Sony. She also penned the article "Surf Girls of Maui," which became "Blue Crush" for Universal.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com