New Line Acquires Film Rights to Susanna Clarke Novel

Posted on October 22, 2004

New Line Cinema has acquired the feature film rights to the British fantasy novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, it was announced by Toby Emmerich, New Line's president of production. The novel currently resides at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list. New Line said it beat several competing studios to the punch for the rights to the project with a pre-emptive bid of high-six figures against seven figures. Author Clarke will also act as a producer on the film in partnership with Cuba Pictures, London literary agency Curtis Brown's recently formed production banner.

Clarke said in the announcement, "The Lord of the Rings is my favorite movie -- I've seen it more times than I can count. So I'm delighted. New Line seems an excellent home for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell."

Published by Bloomsbury, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a dense 800-page novel which Clarke penned over a 10-year period. The book tells the story of two feuding magicians who attempt to restore English magic in the age of Napoleon and combines the dark mythological fantasy of J.R.R. Tolkien with the social comedy of Jane Austen. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell has received high critical praise since its Sept. 8 release in the U.S. with Time magazine calling the novel a "masterpiece of the genre that rivals Tolkien," and author Neil Gaiman suggesting it is "the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last 70 years."

The project was brought into New Line Cinema by executive vp production Mark Ordesky and senior vp European production Ileen Maisel. Ordesky was previously an executive producer on The Lord of the Rings trilogy and is also executive producing New Line's upcoming fantasy adaptation His Dark Materials.

"This is a book we have been chasing since April," said Ordesky. "Susanna Clarke akes you believe that magic is real, vibrant and dangerous. The rich detailed, historical setting, and Susanna's tremendous wit and intelligence, elevates the book to the level of great literature."

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell marks the third blockbuster European book that New Line has acquired following the company's acquisitions of His Dark Materials and Inkheart. Clarke cited New Line's stewardship of both His Dark Materials and The Lord of the Rings as one of the reasons the studio had an edge in securing the rights.