The Reel Deals

Two new movie deals are worth noting. First, courtesy of Chris Grabenstein’s publicist, comes word that Los Angeles-based Bella Fe Films has optioned Grabenstein’s introductory John Ceepak novel, the Anthony Award-winning Tilt-a-Whirl (2005). As the PR release goes on to explain:

Grabenstein, a New York-based novelist, has signed an option with Bella Fe Films to have Ken Mora adapt a feature-length screenplay of the first novel in the John Ceepak mystery/thriller series, with right of first negotiation for the entire Ceepak series. “Tilt-a-Whirl is a thrill-ride of a story with a Chinatown-dark twist,” said Ken Mora, head of Bella Fe Films. “It’s the cop/buddy pairing of local slacker Danny Boyle and John Ceepak, an Iraqi veteran ‘cop with a code,’ set against a kitschy little resort on the Jersey Shore.”

No telling yet, of course, whether this option will convert to an actual film. But any cinematic results might be well worth watching.

Meanwhile, Sarah Weinman reports that “Film rights to Marcus Sakey’s debut crime thriller, The Blade Itself, about a young man who realizes his new life hinges on a terrible choice and the lengths he will go to protect his future from his past” has been sold “to Miramax, with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s LivePlanet producing, and Aaron Stockard (Gone Baby Gone) adapting ...”