Just what we were waiting for, a hot film deal. Days after the town jumped all over the new novel by The Martian author Andy Weir, sources said that Project Hail Mary is in exclusive negotiations to be acquired by MGM in a 7-figure deal. Gosling will produce with Ken Kao. It is the latest bold move for Michael De Luca since taking the reins of the movie side of the studio. I expect the deals to close quickly.
The book is described as a solitary tale of an astronaut on a space ship who is tasked with saving the planet. There are some very clever twists that I won’t give away here, but is consistent with the ingenuity that made The Martian a thrilling ride. Gosling is attached to play the astronaut.
CAA is brokering the book deal with David Fugate of Launch Books, after running an auction that hopefully will be the start of more deal making. Book will be published next spring by Random House. Gosling is also repped by CAA, and he’s lawyered by Robert Offer.
After the Best Picture nominated Ridley Scott-directed The Martian, Weir’s prose has been in high demand. His novel Artemis was set as a directing project for Phil Lord & Chris Miller, and the company made a big deal on a Weir idea married to the graphic novel Cheshire Crossing, the first project they set under their new deal at Universal. Gosling was last seen onscreen playing astronaut Neil Armstrong in the Damien Chazelle-directed First Man.
