‘The Beatryce Prophecy’ Film Based On Kate DiCamillo Novel In Works From Amazon, Netter Films; Brad Copeland To Pen The Script
EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios has locked down film rights to the #1 New York Times bestseller The Beatryce Prophecy from two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo, tapping two-time Emmy nominee Brad Copeland (Arrested Development) to script an adaptation.
Gil Netter will produce the fantasy pic for Netter Films, with the company’s VP of Development & Production Jennie Lee serving as exec producer.
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Published by Candlewick in September of 2021 and featuring illustrations by Sophie Blackall, The Beatryce Prophecy is billed as a fantastical meditation on fate, love and the power of words to spell the world.
The book’s official synopsis goes as follows: In a time of war, a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. Gentle Brother Edik finds the girl, Beatryce, curled in a stall, wracked with fever, coated in dirt and blood, and holding fast to the ear of Answelica the goat. As the monk nurses Beatryce to health, he uncovers her dangerous secret, one that imperils them all — for the king of the land seeks just such a girl, and Brother Edik, who penned the prophecy himself, knows why.
And so it is that a girl with a head full of stories — powerful tales-within-the-tale of queens and kings, mermaids and wolves — ventures into a dark wood in search of the castle of one who wishes her dead. But Beatryce knows that, should she lose her way, those who love her — a wild-eyed monk, a man who had once been king, a boy with a terrible sword, and a goat with a head as hard as stone — will never give up searching for her, and to know this is to know everything.
The Beatryce Prophecy film marks the second collaboration between Copeland, DiCamillo and Netter Films following the Disney+ adaptation of DiCamillo’s book Flora & Ulysses, which was written by Copeland, produced by Netter and co-produced by Lee. Copeland also recently wrote the feature comedy Jerry and Marge Go Large, starring Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening, for Netter Films and Paramount+.
A former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, DiCamillo won the Newbery Award for her novels The Tale of Despereaux and Flora & Ulysses in 2003 and 2014, respectively. She also won the Newbery Honor for Because of Winn Dixie and was a National Book Award Finalist for her novels The Tiger Rising and Raymie Nightingale.
Copeland previously penned the Oscar-nominated 20th Century Fox feature Ferdinand, also writing on and producing several seasons of the Emmy-winning comedy series Arrested Development. He made his feature writing debut in 2007 with the hit biker comedy Wild Hogs, and also wrote and directed the cult favorite CollegeHumor comedy Coffee Town, starring It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Glnn Howerton.
Netter earned Best Picture Oscar nominations for his work on the hit films The Life of Pi and The Blind Side. He more recently produced the Michael B. Jordan-led legal drama Just Mercy, which won three 2020 NAACP Image Awards including Outstanding Motion Picture. Additional producing credits include The Shack, The Glass Castle, The Sea of Trees, Water For Elephants and Marley & Me.
Netter previously served as President of Zucker Brothers Productions, where he oversaw the production of the 1990 smash hit Ghost. He’s also executive produced My Best Friend’s Wedding, First Knight, My Life, Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, among other titles. Projects on his upcoming slate include the musical feature Atlantis, inspired by Pharrell Williams’ childhood, with Michel Gondry directing for Universal; an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, with Marc Forster directing for Disney; and Merlin, with Michael Matthews directing for Disney.
Lee has recently exec produced titles including Jerry and Marge Go Large and Mixtape, among others, and was previously an associate producer on Just Mercy and The Glass Castle.
DiCamillo is represented by Pippin Properties, The Dravis Agency and Katz Golden Lerner; Copeland by UTA and Sloan, Offer, Weber & Dern.
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