Shawn Levy's list of possible future producing and directing projects is as long as your arm, and has just got slightly longer. Joining the bajillion-odd films to which his name is currently attached, The Story Of Your LIfe** has just been announced by FilmNation. Levy will produce the sci-fi yarn, with Nic Mathieu directing.
The film is based on the Nebula Award-winning short story by Ted Chiang, and is described as "a mind-bending science fiction thriller with a powerful emotional twist."
The story involves aliens landing on Earth, and a linguist employed by the US Government racing to discover their intentions. Further investigation reveals that said linguist learns to think as the aliens do, by learning their language, developing the ability to "chrono-synclastically" percieve time from the outside. In a nutshell, she's able to "remember" the future, which has implications, since she can see the ultimate fate of her currently unborn daughter.
The Story Of Your Life will be commercials director Nic Mathieu's debut feature (he also has a mystery project percolating with David Koepp). The production companies are the aformentioned FilmNation, Lava Bear, and Levy's own 21 Laps.
The screenplay adaptation is by Eric Heisserer, who wrote the recent versions of The Thing and A Nightmare On Elm Street. Don't let that put you off though. A statement from 21 Laps promises, "From the moment we first read Ted Chiang's incredible short story, to when we read Eric Heisserer's powerful script and heard director Nic Mathieu's vision for the movie, this has been a passion project of ours. We couldn't be more excited."
Slightly more solid than some of the other films on Levy's to-do list, casting is underway now, and shooting should start in the first half of next year.
Ted Chiang's Stories Of Your Life And Others is published in the States by Big Mouth House.