Here's an interesting concept: an android wreaks havok on a penal colony on the moon in a story described as being in the vein of AVATAR and BLADE RUNNER. Does that have your attention?
Heat Vision is reporting that 20th Century Fox has preemptively bought the film rights to hot Frankfurt Book Fair title THE DARK SIDE by Anthony O'Neill for Steve Zaillian and Garrett Basch's Film Rites to produce. THE DARK SIDE is…
…an elevated sci-fi noir story set in a future where the moon is utilized as a penal colony, housing criminals, psychopaths and curious tourists alike. As an anarchic android begins wreaking havoc on the area, and bodies start turning up, an exiled detective arrives to investigate.
Curious tourists? Androids? Sounds like a dash of WESTWORLD tossed in for good measure. I'm digging the idea behind this. Done properly, it could be a hell of a lot of fun.
Simon & Schuster just acquired worldwide rights to the novel and plans to publish the book in Spring 2015. As for the film, Fox's Kira Goldberg is overseeing for the studio.
Basch and Zaillian, whose first-look deal is with Fox, are currently in production on the upcoming HBO series "Crime". Zaillian co-wrote Fox's upcoming Ridley Scott epic EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS.