EXCLUSIVE: Studios, get ready to dip into the nest egg. The screen-rights auction on the Michael Crichton-James Patterson novel collaboration Eruption will happen in February, in advance of the book’s June 3 publication by Little Brown.
Patterson took over the unfinished novel by Crichton, the Jurassic Park, Westworld and ER creator who left the novel behind when he died in 2008. It was given to Patterson by Sherri Crichton, the author’s wife and CEO of CrichtonSun, the publishing/production company of Crichton’s estate.
The subject: A once-in-a-century volcano eruption of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano threatens creates the potential for devastation far worse than a natural disaster. Held a close secret for decades by the military, there is a secret cache of weapons technology that could turn the volcano into a world-ender. Like Crichton’s Twister, the book features an unusual partnership between John “Mac” MacGregor, head of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and Rebecca Cruz, the demolition expert who will help Mac conceive the daring plan to save the island — and perhaps the entire world.
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They’ve just released a trailer for the book to get the promotional lava flowing around for the novel. Just like Jurassic Park, the plan for Eruption is for it to be the first of a book and film trilogy. Patterson has laid out the vision to carry Crichton’s template through the trilogy.
Considering the billions grossed by films adapted from Crichton’s brilliant science-based novels, and the fact that the two authors have sold more than 675 million books combined, this should be a big one.
Shane Salerno at The Story Factory and CAA will jointly broker the screen right auction.