Spielberg Adapting Michael Crichton's Last Novel

After Michael Crichton suddenly passed away last year, he left behind the novel Pirate Latitudes, royally pissing off Jimmy Buffett who has never combined the two words in his storied career. Now, Crichton's Jurassic Park collaborators Steven Spielberg and writer David Koepp, will bring Latitudes to theaters. Although the novel won't be out until November 24th, it will obviously be a big item for the holiday sales season; Crichton is one of the best-regarded and best-selling fiction writers in the last half-century. This book is set in the 1660s, off the coast of Jamaica, and is described in USA Today as "a daring plan to infiltrate Port Royal, one of the world's richest and most notorious cities, and raid a Spanish galleon filled with treasure." Incidentally, all signs point to Spielberg directing the new pirate movie. There is the issue with DreamWorks - which is developing the film - and its new distribution deal with Disney insofar as how it impacts the other series of pirate movies at the House of Mouse. Producer Stacey Snider says it's no problem. "We would only pursue this if it was wonderful in its own way, and didn't interfere with their films," she says. Snider calls Pirate Latitudes "a mission movie, and we see it through the prism of what it might have been like to live on the island during that time." Because of that distinction, she believes the more historically grounded Latitudes won't conflict with the high seas adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow. Spielberg, pirates, Crichton...that seems like a definite recipe for success. There is, as always, the question of where Spielberg plans to fit this in. Between post-production on Tintin and his directing responsibilities on Oldboy, Harvey, and the languishing Lincoln, there's no way Spielberg can get through all of those films in the next 18 months or so, meaning either Latitude will wait a while or something else will be put in temporary limbo.

Comments

[Carv]

I dunno...You've seen Hook, right?

[SEAN]

Betcha he'll wait awhile...

I mean the book hasnt even come out!

[Levi Novey]

Hat tip for your first terrific sentence: "After Michael Crichton suddenly passed away last year, he left behind the novel Pirate Latitudes, royally pissing off Jimmy Buffett who has never combined the two words in his stories career. " Just now seeing the typo though in "storied." That indeed does sound like a logical path for Jimmy Buffet to travel down.