Pheonix Pictures to adapt Ray Bradbury's 'Dandelion Way"

Acclaimed author Ray Bradbury is partnering with Phoenix Pictures to adapt his 1957 auto-biographical novel "Dandelion Wine" into a feature film.

The book was published in 1957.

Mike Medavoy and Doug McKay, vice-president of production at Phoenix Pictures, have teamed up with Bradbury, RGI Productions’ Rodion Nahapetov--who is penning the screenplay--and producer Natasha Shliapnikoff to produce the adaptation.

Bradbury, who turns 91 on Monday remarked, “This is the best birthday gift I could ask for. Today, I have been reborn! ‘Dandelion Wine’ is my most deeply personal work and brings back memories of sheer joy as well as terror. This is the story of me as a young boy and the magic of an unforgettable summer which still holds a mystical power over me.”

“I was deeply honored when Ray Bradbury chose me to write the screenplay adaptation for his novel ‘Dandelion Wine,’" Nahapetov  said. "When I began my studies at the Cinema Institute in Moscow, many foreign books were banned in Soviet Russia. Still, I decided to make my short film based upon “Dandelion Wine” because this novel represented to me the childhood I never had. My childhood had been stolen by the ravages and destruction of post World War II Russia and 'Dandelion Wine' restored it back for me.”

Paramount picks up 'The Martian Chronicles'

Paramount Pictures has picked up the movie rights to Ray Bradbury's short-story collection, “The Martian Chronicles.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, John Davis will produce the adaptation. Universal optioned the rights in 1997, but they reverted earlier this year after the studio couldn't get the project launched.

The Los Angeles Times' 24 Frames blog first reported Davis' involvement back in June. The producer's most recent credits include “Gulliver's Travels,” “Predators” and “Marmaduke.” He began his producing career with the original “Predator” film in 1987.

No writer or director has been announced.

“The Martian Chronicles” was published in 1950, collecting stories Bradbury wrote in the late 1940s. It follows the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing a troubled Earth and confronting the native population.

The collection was previously adapted into a television mini-series produced by NBC and BBC, starring Rock Hudson in the lead.

Although it remains to be seen whether Paramount will have better luck than Universal, this news coming on the heels of the Dragonflight adaptation getting a screenwriter is a good sign that Hollywood is taking a serious look at classic science fiction and fantasy.

That has to be better than yet another remake, right?