After already seeing three adaptations of his novels made into films, author Dennis Lehane has decided to join in the game himself and will adapt his own short story “Animal Rescue” for Fox 2000.
The story is apart of the “Boston Noir” anthology and centers on a killing that results from a lost, contested pit bull. As it was a short story though, it’ll probably be fleshed it out much more.
Lehane is obviously hot property in Hollywood with his bibliography already spawning three major feature films with Clint Eastwood’s “Mystic River,” Ben Affleck’s “Gone Baby Gone” and Martin Scorsese’s upcoming “Shutter Island.” Sam Raimi has also been linked to Lehane’s “The Given Day” though that project has been stagnant for quite some time.
The author has thus far turned down any offer to adapt his own novels preferring to stay in the fiction world or television, having written for critically acclaimed HBO crime-saga “The Wire.” Lehane also once wrote and directed a independent Boston-set film called “Neighborhoods” which reportedly failed to sell and never saw the light of day. This, however, was long before he broke out as an author.
It’s not known if this adaptation is a one-off or not, but if he is moving into film, Lehane could find himself blanketed with offers based on the success of his novels and their adaptations alone.