Donna Tartt’s page-turner The Goldfinch might have missed out on the Man Booker Prize longlist last week, but Hollywood has already offered solace to the author’s devoted fans. News that the novel has just been acquired by Warner Bros has set Tartt’s acolytes quivering with delight.
However, judging by the novelist’s track record, they shouldn’t be putting all their eggs in one basket. When Tartt’s seminal debut The Secret History was released in 1992 it was quickly optioned by director Alan J Pakula. He asked writers Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne to work on the screenplay, but after Pakula died in 1998 their efforts were shelved.
Then in 2002 Gwyneth Paltrow attempted a revival of the project, even securing financing from… Warner Bros. When the actress failed to get it off the ground, the rights reverted to Tartt and it has not seen the light of day since.
Here’s hoping the same curse doesn’t strike down The Goldfinch.
