Though an accomplished, best-selling author with a shelf full of titles to his name, only one book by Harlan Coben has made it to the big screen — Guillaume Canet‘s adaptation of “Tell No One.” Not a bad start at all (though an American remake by Ben Affleck is brewing), and now another one of his works is headed down the film path, with a pretty big star attached.
Hugh Jackman is set to star in “Six Years,” with the movie being set up over at Paramount, and it definitely has strong shades of “Tell No One.” The story follows Jake Fisher, who sees Natalie, the love of his life, marry someone else. Six years later, he learns that the man she married passed away, and he heads to the funeral to try catch a glimpse of Natalie one more time. But the widow by the grave isn’t her at all, and thus begins our mystery. It’s another tale of a life turned completely upside down. Here’s the long synopsis:
Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd.
But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for . . . but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for more than a decade, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life—a time he has never gotten over—is turned completely inside out.
As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart—and who lied to him—soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on carefully constructed fiction.
Right now, “Six Years” is likely a way off. Jackman has an intensely busy spring and summer ahead, promoting “The Wolverine” and shooting both “Prisoners” and “X-Men: Days Of Future Past.” And of course, a director and writer still need to be found as well. So until that’s all sorted, you can pick up “Six Years” at your local bookstore starting today, and with about a half dozen other novels in movie development — including “Stay Close” with Lawrence Kasdan attached to direct, one of these is likely to hit the big screen sooner rather than later. [THR]