"Braveheart" scribe enters supernatural realm

By Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Braveheart" screenwriter Randall Wallace will direct "The Arcanum," a fantasy adventure adapted from the debut novel of Thomas Wheeler.

The 1919-set story follows Arthur Conan Doyle as he leads a secret society known as the Arcanum -- whose members include magician Harry Houdini, voodoo priestess Marie Laveau and horror writer H.P. Lovecraft -- against a powerful supernatural force that threatens the world.

The project is being produced by Gold Circle Films, one of the firms behind "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

Wallace, who was nominated for a screenplay Oscar for "Braveheart," most recently adapted Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" for Lionsgate. His directing credits include "We Were Soldiers" and "The Man in the Iron Mask."

Wheeler, meanwhile, is working with ABC on "Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas," a fantasy about a girl who explores an alternate world with the help of a magical atlas.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter