Jack Black and Eli Roth are developing a The House with a Clock in Its Walls movie
A The House with a Clock In Its Walls movie is back on track today as The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Eli Roth is set to direct the big screen adaptation of John Bellairs‘ 1973 gothic mystery with Jack Black set to star. The book, Bellairs’ first to follow protagonist Lewis Barnavelt, was originally published with illustrations by Edward Gorey. The big screen version will feature a script by Supernatural‘s Eric Kripke, who has been attached to the property for some time.
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The House with a Clock In Its Walls is described on the late author’s official site as follows:
Lewis had always wanted to live in a house like Uncle Jonathan’s — full of marble fireplaces and secret passageways and dozens of unused, unexplored rooms. And living with Uncle Jonathan, a real wizard, was full of fun and surprises.
But while Uncle Jonathan practiced funny and comfortable white magic, the original owner of the old house, Isaac Izard, had been an evil sorcerer. Isaac Izard had devised a plan for bringing about the end of the world. Somewhere in the walls of the house he had hidden a clock. Every night Lewis and Uncle Jonathan could hear it ticking — sometimes loud, sometimes soft — marking off the minutes until doomsday.
Lewis knew they had to find the clock before it was too late. Then he decided to dabble in a litte magic of his own, and their time almost ran out.
Set up at Amblin Entertainment, The House with a Clock In Its Walls movie has Brad Fischer and James Vanderbilt producing alongside Kripke. Laeta Kalogridis, Tracey Nyberg and William Sherak are serving as executive producers.
