Warner Bros. Plans A Discovery of Witches

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=85796

Source: Variety , Deborah Harkness
January 9, 2012

Warner Bros. has plans to adapt Deborah Harkness' novel, A Discovery of Witches, into a feature film and, Variety reports, they've brought aboard David Auburn to provide the screenplay.

The first book in the "All Souls Trilogy," "A Discovery of Witches" will receive a sequel this summer with "Shadow of Night." On her site, Harkness describes the first novel as follows:

When historian Diana Bishop opens a bewitched alchemical manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian Library it represents an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordinary life. Though descended from a long line of witches, she is determined to remain untouched by her family’s legacy. She banishes the manuscript to the stacks, but Diana finds it impossible to hold the world of magic at bay any longer.

For witches are not the only otherworldly creatures living alongside humans. There are also creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires who become interested in the witch’s discovery. They believe that the manuscript contains important clues about the past and the future, and want to know how Diana Bishop has been able to get her hands on the elusive volume.

Chief among the creatures who gather around Diana is vampire Matthew Clairmont, a geneticist with a passion for Darwin. Together, Diana and Matthew embark on a journey to understand the manuscript’s secrets. But the relationship that develops between the ages-old vampire and the spellbound witch threatens to unravel the fragile peace that has long existed between creatures and humans—and will certainly transform Diana’s world as well.

Auburn is best known as the playwright behind "Proof." He also wrote The Lake House and wrote and directed 2007's The Girl in the Park.

So WB have found their next attempt at a new Potter-esque franchise!

 

[Cherry]

Ehh, more vampires and witches? I can't blame them for marketing what sells, but this sounds like True Blood, Harry Potter, Vampire Diaries, Secret Circle, etc. etc. Kinda tired of it.

 

[Destructus86]

ugh...it's gotten so old. If they want to do fantasy, how about some hardcore fantasy? Take some of the Forgotten Realms books....

 

[#root]

[YT]B5qMoVTAwGk[/YT]

Teresa Palmer, Matthew Goode and Alex Kingston . Surprised that this is the first I'm hearing of this and I guess it's a TV show now. Looks like it could be really cliche but I'm intrigued by the trailer.

 

[Fincher]

That's probably the most cinematic-looking TV show I've seen, in terms of the general aesthetic. I mean, Game of Thrones has a huge budget and the scale and CGI to go with it, but I had to check and make sure this was actually a TV show when I started the trailer.


Even if it looks standard fare otherwise, that plus Teresa Palmer makes me want to see it.

 

[-JKR-]

That's probably the most cinematic-looking TV show I've seen, in terms of the general aesthetic. I mean, Game of Thrones has a huge budget and the scale and CGI to go with it, but I had to check and make sure this was actually a TV show when I started the trailer.


Even if it looks standard fare otherwise, that plus Teresa Palmer makes me want to see it.

Nah, the cinematography is pretty good, but it very much looks like TV... even with the 2.35:1 ratio.