Disney, Rudin nab 'Dangerous Book'

Duo team on screen rights to Brit novel

By MICHAEL FLEMING

After heavy bidding among multiple suitors, Disney and Scott Rudin have nabbed the screen rights to ``The Dangerous Book for Boys'' in a deal worth mid-six against seven figures.

Penned by British siblings Conn and Hal Iggulden, ``Dangerous'' was a smash bestseller when published by HarperCollins in the U.K. last year, and a version slightly altered for American readers bowed in May. Several studios stepped up to bid for the film rights, even though the book is written like a how-to manual without a traditional narrative structure. Rudin swooped to take the book of the table through his producing pact with Disney.

The book consists of short chapters on subjects ranging from famous historical battles to knot-tying techniques, coin tricks, astronomy and how to hunt and cook a rabbit. Movie approach to ``Dangerous'' is likely to be a yarn revolving around the struggle fathers face in raising their sons and balancing a natural instinct to shelter them from harm with their sons' natural desire for adventure and even a bit of danger.