Heist Society is certainly a great title, and now Warner has decided its good enough that they’ve optioned the rights to Ally Carter’s novel of that name (due to be published in the US this month), with Whip It! screenwriter Shauna Cross hired to handle the script.
The book is about a teen, Katrina, who has to balance her school life with the fact her family are all criminals. After a mobster is robbed of his priceless art collection, Katrina’s father becomes the main suspect, and so she assembles a crew to steal the paintings back. THR reports that the studio wants to up the age of the main character to her early 20s, presumably feeling it’ll work better aimed at a slightly older market, rather than seeming like a teen flick.
There’s no directing of acting talent attached as yet, although Denise Di Novi and Alison Greenspan will produce. I’m just wondering how long it’ll be until Anne Hathaway is rumoured to be connected to the film, as her name is bound to come up at some point.
The book, which is described as a teen version of The Thomas Crown Affair, was the subject of an intense bidding war, with Warner eventually winning out against Disney, Paramount and Summit.