Screenwriter Stuart Beattie will be making his directorial debut with an adaptation of the Australian young-adult novel “Tomorrow, When the War Began”. Beattie wrote the screenplay for the film as well. His writing credits include “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” “Australia” and Stephen Sommers’ upcoming “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.”
‘Tomorrow’ is the first novel in a popular series of seven written by Australian writer John Marsden and published from 1994-99. The series details the insurgency efforts of a band of Aussie teenagers fighting off an enemy invasion and occupation of their homeland. Most of the books in the series were not available stateside until recently, but the filmmakers hope to persuade Scholastic to reprint them in tandem with the movie’s opening. Marsden also wrote a follow-up trilogy called the Ellie Chronicles, which look at the war’s aftermath. According to The Moving Picture, the filmmakers plan to make a trilogy of features from the first three books and then, if the films are successful, spin the next four off into a TV series. Beattie is hoping to start production in September.
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