Shekhar Kapur to Develop Larklight Movie

Now this is one movie you can slot in your, “Hmm, sounds like it could be a real hooten nanny”. It’s a movie called “Larklight” based on a novel by Philip Reeve that is currently being produced, and eventually directed, by Shekhar Kapur (pictured, left, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”). Kapur is currently working on the expected $200-million dollar movie with co-writer Steven Knight (”Eastern Promises”) for Di Novi Pictures, who is producing for Warner Bros. More details about the movie below. Like I said, it has oodles of promised coolness.

The 2006 book, set in aVictorian-era alternate universe in which mankind has been exploring the solar system since the time of Isaac Newton, revolves around a brother and sister who team with a band of renegade space pirates to save the world from destruction at the hands of a madman.

Here’s more about the book from Amazon.com:

Philip Reeve’s novel (Bloomsbury, 2006) combines historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction into a charming story that young listeners will devour. Art and his sister Myrtle are British youngsters living with their father at Larklight during the reign of Queen Victoria. However, in this alternate Victorian era, Britain controls not only most of Earth—including the American colonies—but also Venus, Mars, and the moons of Jupiter. Larklight is a home that hangs just beyond the moon. Art is happy living in the suburbs of the solar system, but his priggish sister longs for the excitement of London’s social scene. When giant spiders attack their home and their father disappears, the siblings are tossed onto a lifeboat and float through the ether until they are rescued by young space pirate with a grudge against the Empire. This Victorian Star Wars trio hurtles through space battling robots, aliens, and a loony scientist. Narrator Greg Steinbruner’s British-accented narration helps American listeners understand the wordy English prose, but be sure to have a copy of the book available so listeners don’t miss out on the quirky illustrations. The story is complete in itself, but more adventures are promised.

“Larklight” wil be Kapur’s most expensive movie to date and, according to the man himself, the last expensive movie he’ll make.