Writer and director Paul Haggis reveals he’s currently working on two projects, one of them an adaptation from YA novel SHIP BREAKER.
In a recent interview with Variety, writer-director and Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Crash) revealed that he was working on a project based on the young adult novel Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi and another project based on John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series.
What are you working on at present?
I will be directing a project I optioned with my business partner Michael Nozik, called the “Ranger’s Apprentice,” to be produced by Dick Cook Studios. It’s based on a series of twelve books by John Flanagan that I read to my son when he was eight. I’m also working on another ambitious project called “Ship Breaker”, budgeted at over $100 million, to be produced by a new production company called Far East.
It’s based on a dystopian novel set after the full onset of global warming, by American science fiction author Paolo Bacigalupi. It could be set anywhere, perhaps off the coast of Nigeria. It’s a straight adventure film.
He didn’t give much more information on it than that, so we don’t really know how far along this is. We can presume it’s in the early stages of pre-production – neither are listed on IMDB at the moment. Still, our interest is always peaked when we hear of a YA book being worked on for film or TV.
About Ship Breaker
In America’s Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota–and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it’s worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life…
About The Ruins of Gorlan
They have always scared him in the past — the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger’s apprentice. What he doesn’t yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied….
Aside from Crash, Paul Haggis also wrote the Award-winning film Million Dollar Baby which was directed by Clint Eastwood, and two Bond films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. His other non-movie writing credits include The Black Donnellys for TV and the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
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