John Logan books his 'Passage'

By Adnan Tezer Sep 16, 2009, 19:23 GMT

John Logan has been hired by Fox 2000 to adapt "The Passage," the Jordan Ainsley vampire novel being developed for Ridley Scott to potentially direct. It would mark the first time that Logan and Scott have collaborated since the Oscar-winning "Gladiator" back in 2000.

According to Variety, Fox 2000 acquired the book two years ago, paying seven figures for the three-book series rights after its publishing rights sold to Ballantine for $3.75 million.

Ainsley, which is a pseudonym for PEN Hemingway Award-winning author Justin Cronin, sold the book based on the first 400 pages and an outline, but the film adaptation awaited his completion of the book, which is just short of 1,200 pages.

The story revolves around terminally ill patients who become healthy after they are bitten by South American bats. The government starts to conduct secret tests on human subjects to see if the virus can cure illness. This results in a dangerous unleashing of bloodthirsty vampire test subjects that include death row inmates.

Logan, who wrote "Gladiator" with David Franzoni and William Nicholson, most recently wrote the Gore Verbinski-directed animated Paramount film "Rango," the Juan Carlos Fresnadillo-directed "Bioshock" and "Empire" for Michael Mann.