Laika, the Hillsboro, Oregon-based studio behind stop-motion films like Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Missing Link, is expanding into live action. The company has optioned Seventeen, the upcoming debut novel by screenwriter John Brownlow, and plans to adapt it as a live-action project.
The novel, which Hanover Square will publish in the U.S. next year, is described as an action thriller. Brownlow is working with Laika to develop it for the screen. His screenwriting credits include the 2003 feature Sylvia, a biopic of Sylvia Plath starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and the three-part BBC limited series The Miniaturist, which he also executive-produced.
Announcing the news, Laika president and CEO Travis Knight (image at top) said, “For the past 15 years, Laika has been committed to making movies that matter. Across mediums and genres, our studio has fused art, craft, and technology in service of bold, distinctive, and enduring stories. With Seventeen, Laika is taking that philosophy in an exciting new direction.”
