Anne Rice – who turned from being queen of the vampire literature crowd to writing about Jesus – has signed a deal with faith-based company Good News Holdings.
Rice will adapt her bestseller Christ The Lord: Out Of Egypt for the company, which is currently trying sell to a studio. The first book in a planned series sees Jesus turn seven and start to realise that his life might be a little different from that of other kids. The plot will also cover his family’s move to Nazareth.
She’s planning to follow this film every step of the way, hoping to avoid the initial trouble she had on Interview With The Vampire. "Any agony or joy I suffered on Interview, multiply it by 100 because it is just so crucial to me that this story get done right,” she told Variety.
And she has had mixed feelings about religious-themed releases in recent years: "I thought The Passion Of The Christ was magnificent. Da Vinci Code I found to be profoundly offensive and tragically disconnected from the world of those who believe in Christ. The idea of people running around, willing to kill one another over whether Jesus was married, that was ridiculous and appalling. This was old fashioned gothic horror having a field day with the Church."