Relativity Media, LLC (RML) announced today that Vincenzo Natali (Cube) will direct the feature film Tunnels. Natali’s recent film, Splice, premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.
Tunnels will be the film adaptation of the first installment of the New York Times best-selling children’s series by first-time authors Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. The book was originally optioned by RML in 2007. The project is being produced by Ryan Kavanaugh, Mark Canton, Danny Davids and Neil Canton. Simon Sandquist and Joel Bergvall scripted the screenplay.
The novel was published by Barry Cunningham of Chicken House/Scholastic Inc., who signed “Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling. Achieving sales of more than a million copies and published in more than forty countries worldwide, the authors have already completed two sequels to the series – “Deeper,” published in ’08, and the third installment, “Freefall” to be published in the USA in spring 2010.
Tunnels tells the story of Will, a 14-year-old boy driven by a fascination of the buried past, who is drawn into a subterranean world after his archaeologist father abruptly goes missing. This hidden civilization, beautiful and unforgiving, is dominated by a sinister, vicious race called the Styx, who have presided over generations of enslaved colonists.
“This first installment of the ‘Tunnels’ franchise will open up a whole new universe of excitement and adventure to audiences throughout the world,” said Mark Canton. “It represents the next level in family entertainment, combining a science-based reality reminiscent of the classic fiction of Verne and Wells, but in a completely contemporary setting, with today’s immersive cinematic technology to create a believable, yet unforgettable movie-going experience.”
