Corona | Coming Attractions

Film rights for Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's first adult-centric novel, The Host, have finally been sold to the producers working on The Road movie. Writing the screenplay and directing the film will be Andrew Niccol, writer/director of Gattaca, Lord of War and the upcoming sci-fi film The Cross.

Producing The Host will be Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz. Meyer's sci-fi drama takes place on a near future Earth that has been invaded by alien spirits that take over the bodies of humans completely. The book's main character is a woman who has a strong enough personality to remain dominant.

After the huge success of Twilight, Meyer was heavily courted by other studios and producers for the screen rights to The Host. She didn't want to part with them until she met Wechsler, the Schwartzes and Niccol. It turned out that two of Stephanie Meyer's top five favorite sci-fi movies were The Truman Show (which Niccol wrote) and Gattaca. I'd like to know what the other three in Stephanie's top five were.

"We wanted Stephenie to be involved in the adaptation, and have her endorse and be part of the creative decisions," Wechsler is quoted in Variety today as saying. "Twilight has proven she more more about what works than most."

Niccol has read the novel and will begin adapting it. The project isn't set up at a studio as the producers fronted their own money for the rights, but with the demand for more Twilight movies not dissapating anytime soon there shouldn't be any shortage of studios eager to sign on as a partner.

Meyer plans on two more books in The Host series, The Soul and The Seeker.