‘Metro 2033,’ ‘Blood’s A Rover’ and Other Novels Heading For the Big Screen

Not a day goes by where someone in Hollywood doesn't option a book. Published classics. Recent bestsellers. Books that aren't even published yet. They're all fair game. Here's a quick rundown of what's in the pipeline right now.

First up: 'Chronicles of Narnia' producer Mark Johnson has picked up the rights to 'Metro 2033,' a Russian si-fi novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky. With twenty books in the series since 2002 (!), the 'Metro' series is an international smash, even inspiring a 2010 videogame. F. Scott Frazier has been hired to write the screenplay, which should sound a little familiar to fans of apocalyptic science fiction tales:

The story is set in 2033, after a nuclear holocaust devastates Moscow and survivors head under ground. The focus is on a young survivor who is forced to go on a journey that will see him deal with mutants, soldiers of a Fourth Reich and political factions of various metro stations in order to reach above ground.

James Ellroy's work is no stranger to cinematic interpretation. Films based on his hardboiled, noir stories and novels include 'L.A. Confidential,' 'The Black Dahlia,' 'Dark Blue,' 'Street Kings' and 'Rampart.' According to Deadline, the next on that list appears to be his 2009 novel 'Blood's A Rover.' Although VS Entertainment will produce, Ellroy is on board as an executive producer. Here's the synopsis:

Martin Luther King assassinated. Robert Kennedy assassinated. Los Angeles, 1968. Conspiracies theories are taking hold. On the horizon looms the Democratic Convention in Chicago and constant gun fire peppers south L.A. Violence, greed, and grime, are replacing free-love and everybody from Howard Hughes, Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover to the right-wing assassins and left-wing revolutionaries are getting dirty. At the center of it all is a triumvirate: the president’s strong-arm goon, an ex-cop and heroine runner, and a private eye whose quarry is so dangerous she could set off the whole powder keg.

And those two are just the tip of the ice berg. Kevin Costner isn't just developing a book series called 'The Explorers Guild,' he's planning a film adaptation and an animated series based on it. And then there's New Line buying the rights to the young adult novel 'The Raven Boys,' which is hitting shelves next week.

In other words, if someone is writing it, Hollywood is looking to adapt it.