On a press conference at Cannes on Sunday, May 18, Weinstein Company's topper Harvey Weinstein let out that the studio will bring Paulo Coelho's best selling novel to the big screen.
- May 19, 2008
AceShowbiz - "The Alchemist", the most prominent and bestseller novel from the Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho, will be adapted into a big screen material. The announcement of the matter has been done during a press conference at Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, May 18 by one of the owners of The Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein.
Insisting that the movie will stay true to the essence of the book, Weinstein also announced that acclaimed actor Laurence Fishburne is touted to star, to helm and to co-produce the adaptation movie. On him joining the project, 46-year-old Fishburne commented, "This is a special project that now has a special team behind it to ensure that its path to the big screen is handled with the proper care it deserves. I am looking forward to directing it, acting in it, and collaborating with Harvey Weinstein to produce a beautiful film that will do justice to Paulo's enormously successful novel."
Set to be made in a budget of $60 million, "Alchemist" follows a Spanish shepherd in a dream-inspired journey to find a treasure. The film will be shot in various locations in Europe and the Middle East in 2009, while the casting of the shepherd by the name of Santiago is said to start soon. Meanwhile, regarding the book itself, "Alchemist" has been translated into 56 languages. It has become one of the best selling books in the history with the sales of more than 65 million copies in more than 150 countries.
