Fox 2000 books "Passage" for Scott

By Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox 2000 has paid seven figures to win a bidding war for the film rights to "The Passage," a partial manuscript intended as a trilogy for Ridley Scott to produce, via his Scott Free banner, and possibly direct.

Ballantine Books picked up the book in a heated auction during the Fourth of July holiday, forking out $3.75 million for North American rights. Jordan Ainsley was the name on the manuscript, but it turned out to be a pseudonym for Justin Cronin, a literary novelist whose book of stories "Mary and O'Neil" won the Pen/Hemingway Award as well as the Stephen Crane Prize for debut fiction.

"Passage," a postapocalyptic vampire story set in 2016, is a departure for Cronin. The dark tale revolves around a U.S. government project gone awry that turns a group of experimental subjects -- condemned inmates plucked from death row -- into highly infectious vampires. Meanwhile, an orphan named Amy discovers that she has unusual powers, seemingly related to the crisis that quickly overtakes civilized society.

Ballantine plans to publish the book in summer 2009.

Vampires seem to be enjoying a resurgence in Hollywood, and "Passage" gives Fox its own franchise. Universal has "Dracula Year Zero," which Alex Proyas just signed on to direct, while Columbia and Red Wagon are developing an adaptation of "The Historian." Rogue, meanwhile, is turning popular video game "Castlevania" into a feature with Sylvain White attached to direct.

Scott next has Universal's "American Gangster" on his release schedule and is working on "Nottingham," a reworking of the Robin Hood tale.

Cronin is the author of "The Summer Guest," which was a Booksense national best-seller. He is professor of English at Rice University.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter