Film adaptation for A Monster Calls

Patrick Ness’ A Monster Calls (Walker Books) is to be made into a film.

Ness is adapting the screenplay from his novel, for which he and illustrator Jim Kay won the Carnegie Medal and Greenaway Medal in 2012.

River Road Entertainment, Participant Media, Lionsgate International, and Focus Features have now teamed up to finance and distribute the production, which will be directed by Juan Antonio Bayona.

A Monster Calls is about a young boy who attempts to deal with his mother's illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales that deal with courage, loss and faith.

Writing on his website this morning, Ness' excitement was clear: “I know I haven't updated in a while, but that's because I've been working furiously to finalise all the details on the A MONSTER CALLS MOVIE!! Yep, that's right, it's going to be a movie! Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona (who directed "The Orphanage" and "The Impossible"), produced by Belen Atienza (who produced "Pan's Labyrinth") and written by me. Shooting starts this fall and if there are open auditions, I'll put that info here. But yay! A movie!”

Bayona said: "It is an incredible privilege to bring Patrick Ness' exceptional book to the screen and I couldn't have imagined better partners joining
me in this endeavor.”

"A Monster Calls" is slated for release in autumn 2016.