A movie based on the novel The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho has been in and out of development for a long time, and now its status is back in the works with Legendary and TriStar. Legendary Entertainment has secured the film, TV and ancillary rights to develop a feature based on the classic novel, with TriStar Pictures on board to release. Jack Thorne, whose film credits include Enola Holmes and The Swimmers, is attached to write the feature adaptation of a popular 1988 novel about a traveler journeying the world during the Inquisition in order to find man’s purpose in the world.
Laurence Fishburne had wanted to develop Coelho’s best-selling book for 16 years after acquiring the film rights from Warner Bros. Pictures with the intent of making the movie themselves.
In 2008, The Weinstein Co. boarded the project as producers, partnering with Fishburne and buying the film rights. By 2015, it looked as if Idris Elba was attached to star in the Weinstein adaptation, with Fishburne set to direct.
But the project was put into turnaround some months later, and in 2016, PalmStar Media acquired film rights and the developed screenplays for $5 million in partnership with TriStar. At this time, Fishburne was still attached to direct. But in July 2021, he was no longer directing.
Instead, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Studios unveiled a deal to join with Netter Films to produce The Alchemist, with PalmStar founder Kevin Frakes set to make his feature directorial debut on the project, having co-written the screenplay.
That deal soured, leading to the latest iteration of The Alchemist adaptation. Coelho’s novel — which has sold over 100 million copies since its 1988 publication and holds the Guinness World Record for most translated work by a living author — centers on a young Spanish shepherd who has a dream and embarks on a quest to find hidden treasure in the great pyramids of Egypt.
The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches readers about the essential wisdom of listening to their hearts and learning to read the omens strewn along life’s path to follow dreams.
via: THR
