Universal eyeing James Patterson's 'Maximum Ride' (exclusive)

"Maximum Ride" has a new destination. 

The James Patterson book property, which was put into turnaround by Columbia after a year of development, is close to being snapped up by Universal. Catherine Hardwicke remains attached to direct, with father and son Avi Arad and Ari Arad and Steven Paul producing.

The project, however, will be working from a new script, with Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby -- whose credits include "Iron Man" and "Cowboys and Aliens" -- being tapped to write a new take.

The books, which see Patterson in young-adult mode, chronicles six teens known as the Flock who are genetically altered so they are part human and part bird. Learning to fly, they escape the laboratory where they have been housed and are pursued by a pack of creatures called the Erasers that are part human and part wolf.

It's easy to see why "Ride" won't be homeless for long as it has what almost every studio is searching for nowadays: it's teen-centric, meaning that costs can be kept low while still appealing to the Facebook-Twitter crowd; it's got the trendy elements of superpowers, supernatural and super-science; it's got franchise potential; and it's got a built-in awareness.

So why did Sony put it in turnaround? Some observers point out that Columbia already has several youth-skewing franchises in the works and is throwing its weight behind the "Spider-Man" reboot -- which will be more teen-centric than the previous trilogy -- and a relaunch of "Ghostbusters," which will feature a new generation of, well, ghostbusters. The studio also is working on a movie version of "Goosebumps."

Ideas that the studio has run out of development money, popular among agencies and execs, don't seem to hold water as Sony still manages to made bids on high-profile projects.

By acquiring "Ride," Universal will join the teen-franchise sphere and be with the director of "Twilight," the movie that originated the trend. Summit, the company that made "Twilight," has several other youth-oriented projects in development; DreamWorks is weeks away from principal photography on "I Am Number Four," which adapts a young-adult book series centering on an alien teen hiding out in high school.

Hardwicke, Fergus and Ostby are repped by CAA. Universal's Tracy Falco and Franklin Leonard will oversee for the studio.

Comments

[Toby of The Hill People]

Sony has run out of development money. Learn journalism

[memory stick]

They escape the laboratory where they have been housed and are pursued by a pack of creatures called the Erasers that are part human and part wolf.The book is quite good. I'm not sure about how this will turn out.

[Gary Abyad]

It's got the trendy elements of superpowers, supernatural and super-science, it's got franchise potential, and it's got a built-in awareness.