Looks like the big studios are getting antsy for some of that God cash; Deadline reports that Universal has acquired the rights to Proof of Heaven: A Neuroscientist’s Journey to the Afterlife, a memoir written by Dr. Eben Alexander. The book is Alexander’s account of his battle with a rare brain disorder which left him in a coma for seven straight days before mysteriously snapping out of it and making a recovery. An inspirational story, sure, but the real kicker is Alexander came back with a vivid account of his journey to the world beyond ours which included not only meeting an angelic being but also a meeting with the “Divine source of the Universe itself”. After this alleged encounter, Alexander became a firm believer in a God and now preaches that death is merely a transition rather than the end. The job of turning Proof of Heaven from memoir to movie has been assigned to Ryan Knighton, who has already turned his own memoir Cockeyed into a screenplay in addition to his current gig of adapting the novel Thick as Thieves for Fox 2000.
The studio has also found another gig for the director of its successful horror film Mama, as THR lets us know Andy Muschietti is attached to direct an adaptation of Bird Box, an upcoming book from musician Josh Malerman. While the book won’t hit shelves until 2014, the plot follows “a blindfolded threesome comprised of a woman and two children who make their way down a river in a seemingly postapocalyptic setting.” Muschietti was able to conjure up some terrifying imagery for Mama, and with this project being described in the style of Children of Men and The Others, it looks to be a promising step-up in scope. It will likely be awhile before it hit screens, as the studio is currently looking for a writer.
Have you read Proof of Heaven? What do you think of its impending trip to the big screen? Are you looking forward to the next film from the Mama director?