Screenwriting pair gets "Goosebumps"

By Leslie Simmons and Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Writing duo Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander are in negotiations to write the live-action big-screen adaptation of the children's horror series "Goosebumps" for Columbia Pictures.

The "Goosebumps" series -- which comprises more than 50 books that often pay homage to classic sci-fi/horror movies such as "Night of the Living Dead" and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" as well as the twist endings of "The Twilight Zone" -- have grossed hundreds of millions of dollars for publishers R.L. Stine and Scholastic, second only to the "Harry Potter" series. Stine recently published a new 12-book series, "Goosebumps in HorrorLand," and Scholastic plans to launch a videogame in the fall.

Straight-to-video versions of the book series have been made, but this project will mark the first feature adaptation of the series and could become a franchise for Columbia, which acquired the rights in May.

Writers Karaszewski and Alexander are best known for their work on "Ed Wood," "Man on the Moon" and "The People vs. Larry Flynt," the latter of which earned them a Golden Globe. Other credits include "1408" and "Ripley's Believe It or Not."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter