Hollywood loves Nicholas Sparks, the romantic writer behind books like Message In A Bottle and The Notebook. Just in 2010 we’ve got Dear John and The Last Song coming out, and now it seems Tinsel Town is lining up another, with an adaptation of The Lucky One.
Warner bought the rights to the book roughly two years ago, but it’s only now that things have started to really move forward. The LA Times reports that Scott Hicks, the man behind Shine and the recent The Boys Are Back, is currently the front-runner to direct the picture, with a decision on his involvement expected soon. As for a lead actor, nobody has been signed up, but the producer have had preliminary discussions with James Franco.
The Lucky One itself is about a Marine who, while on a tour of duty in Iraq, finds a photo of a mysterious woman. He stashes away the photo for good luck and then uncovers a group of secrets when he eventually seeks out the woman. The script, by Will Fetters, is said to be in good shape, and the film is now a priority for the studio. That said, quite how quickly they rush ahead with The Lucky One might rest on the success of Dear John, another Sparks adaptation about romance and war, which stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried and is due out in the US this weekend.