Coming off the success of their Liam Neeson-vs.-nature thriller The Grey, Inferno Entertainment has their sights on developing yet another adrenaline pumper. The company is optioning author Harlan Coben’s 2008 bestseller Hold Tight, and if the excellent French adaptation of his suspense=filled novel Tell No One is any indication, the deal should prove interesting. [Variety]
For a screenwriter, Inferno has tapped TV writer Scott F. Butler to adapt the story, which follows a family as they discover the deadly secrets surrounding their seemingly peaceful suburb. Coben will act as an executive producer on the project along with Christian Halsey Solomon. Steve Lee Jones of Bee Holder Productions will also produce, along with Bill Johnson, Jim Seibel, D.J. Gugenheim and Campbell McInnes of Inferno.
This is the second book this year that Inferno will bring to the big screen – they’re also producing an adaptation of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s novel The Host for Open Road Films, which is expected to release in 2013. For an idea of what to expect from Hold Tight, read the summary (courtesy of Coben’s official website) below:
Summary:
Tia and Mike Baye never imagined they’d spy on their kids. But their sixteen-year-old son Adam has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his best friend Spencer Hill, they can’t help but worry. Within days of installing a sophisticated spy program on Adam’s computer they are jolted by a cryptic message from an unknown correspondent that shakes them to their core: “Just stay quiet and all safe.”
As if Mike Baye isn’t dealing with enough, he also learns that Lucas Loriman, the sweet kid who grew up next door, is in urgent need of a kidney transplant. As the boy’s doctor, Mike suddenly finds himself in possession of an explosive secret that threatens to rip the Loriman family apart at the seams.
Nearby, while browsing through an online memorial for Spencer, Betsy Hill discovers a surprising detail about the night of her son’s death. Before she can find out more, Adam disappears, taking the truth with him and sending shockwaves through the neighborhood.
As the lives of these families collide in tragic, unexpected, and violent ways, long-hidden connections in their small suburb begin to work their way to the surface. And when an unidentified Jane Doe is beaten to death not far away, those connections threaten to turn this quiet community upside down—and force these desperate parents to decide whether there is any line they won’t cross to protect those they love most in the world.