James Cameron has lined up his next film project that he'll start working on as soon as he's finished with his next two Avatar movies. His production Company Lightstorm Entertainment has acquired the film rights to a novel written by Taylor Stevens called The Informationist, and it will be developed over at 20th Century Fox.
The book was published back in 2011, and the story "centers on Vanessa 'Michael' Munroe, an information specialist, whose work is in-demand by corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. When a Texas oil billionaire hires her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood. Betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead, she must come face-to-face with the past that she's tried for so long to forget."
This seems like a very different film project for Cameron to take on. I imagine this means Battle Angel is going to be delayed even longer. Cameron explained why he's interested in taking this story on,
Taylor Stevens' Vanessa Michael Munroe is an intriguing and compelling heroine with an agile mind and a thirst for adventure. Equally fascinating for me is her emotional life and her unexpected love story. I'm looking forward to bringing Vanessa and her world to the big screen.
Producer Jon Landau added:
This was an opportunity to continue our relationship with Fox and Jim Gianopulos beyond the ‘Avatar’ films. We were drawn to this book because of the terrific, compelling narrative and the character, who typifies the strong female protagonists that have inhabited Jim’s work – in this case Vanessa Munroe is essentially a mix of Lisbeth Salander and Jason Bourne.
The producers are expected to hire a writer to adapt the novel shortly. What do you think about this new film Cameron wants to make?
Here's some interesting information on the author of the book, which sounds like it could make a good movie on its own.
Author Taylor Stevens has a background every bit as intriguing as her heroine’s. Born in New York State, and into the Children of God, an apocalyptic religious cult spun from the Jesus Movement of the '60s, Stevens was raised in communes across the globe. Separated from her family at age twelve and denied an education beyond sixth grade, she lived on three continents and in a dozen countries before reaching fourteen. In place of schooling, the majority of her adolescence was spent begging on city streets at the behest of cult leaders, or as a worker bee child, caring for the many younger commune children, washing laundry and cooking meals for hundreds at a time. In her twenties, Stevens broke free in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond. She now lives in Texas, and juggles full-time writing with full-time motherhood.