Busy screenwriter/producer/director Akiva Goldsman will have his hands full with scripting the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King‘s Dark Tower series for director Ron Howard, which is looking more and more likely to have Javier Bardem toting the guns of Roland Deschain. Now, Deadline reports that Goldsman has secured his first feature directing gig, an adaptation of Mark Helprin‘s novel Winter’s Tale.

The 1983 novel centers around Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar who breaks into a fortress-like mansion only to find a dying young girl inside. Their love story powers the tale, which includes flying horses, and a fantastical, mythical New York City.

Warner Brothers, which has been home to the Oscar-winner (for scripting A Beautiful Mind) for years, has put up $75 million for this large-scale production, a huge show of their confidence in Goldsman. He has an impressive list of commercial hits to his credit, including The Client, Batman Forever, and I Robot. The relative lack of critical praise could give fans pause – A Beautiful Mind notwithstanding, since even that film took it’s share of hits for Goldsman and director Ron Howard’s selective rendering of the history of Nobel-prize winner Charles Nash.

Still, Helprin’s novel had its share of praise and is obscure enough to warrant an extensive screen overhaul, but purists would do well to expect some major changes. Hardcore Isaac Asimov fans were likely stunned at the massive departure Goldsman’s I Robot script took from the classic novel (the credits even read “Suggested By”).

I believe this subject matter could be a good fit for Goldsman, and there’s really no telling when this will even be off the ground, given the major time commitment needed for the The Dark Tower, which is producing as well as writing.

Have you read A Winter’s Tale? Do you think this sounds like an interesting project?

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