Nearly as large as Blood Meridian‘s literary reputation is the notoriety of many, many failed adaptations that have claimed the likes of Ridley Scott, James Franco (who was hilariously told he didn’t have rights), Tommy Lee Jones, purportedly even Martin Scorsese at one point. Few have come closer than John Hillcoat, of whose The Road adaptation Cormac McCarthy approved to the point that he once offered to adapt his own novel: unlike seemingly everyone else, they “cracked how to make it into a film.” Which of course never materialized.
But John Hillcoat’s feet are light and nimble. He never sleeps. He says that his Blood Meridian movie will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, John Hillcoat. He is dancing, dancing. He says that his Blood Meridian movie will never die.
Sorry––succumbed to reveries for a second. Anyway: Deadline report New Regency and Black Bear Pictures are supporting the film, which McCarthy and his son John Francis will executive-produce. Word is otherwise scant, with notably no notice of McCarthy’s scripting offer; should international sales get running at Cannes next month, however, stay put for more word. Meanwhile I’ll hold out hope someone adapts McCarthy’s more recent, frankly far superior duet The Passenger and Stella Maris (while acknowledging nobody wants to finance a film about a mentally ill super-genius’ monologue on the history of math and wanting to fuck her brother).