ABC has just bought drama project, “Diamond in the Sky,” from “The Lake House” and “Proof” writer David Auburn, TheWrap has learned exclusively.
The project, which is intended as an event series, is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1922 novella, “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz.”
“Diamond in the Sky” follows a young lawyer named John Unger, who falls in love with his best friend’s sister. During a visit to their mountaintop estate, John learns that this mysterious family controls an infinite source of wealth. He has a choice – either marry into the family and continue their murderous tradition of protecting their secret, or escape to avoid becoming a victim himself.
The representative for Fitzgerald’s estate, Don Laventhall at Harold Ober Associates, brought the book to Brian Taylor’s attention. Taylor then brought it to Bob Cooper and Tyler Mitchell’s Landscape Entertainment (“The Angriest Man in Brooklyn,” “John Tucker Must Die”). Landscape developed it internally with senior vice president Benjamin Tappan and Sandy Shenkman under its first look deal with eOne (“Dear White People,” “The Best of Me”). ABC Signature (“Benched,” “Point of Honor”) joined when ABC bought the project in a competitive situation.
Auburn, Cooper, Mitchell, Taylor, and Michael Rosenberg will serve as executive producers.
Fitzgerald’s works have been adapted to the big and small screens for decades. His most well known novel, “The Great Gatsby,” was recently adapted by Baz Luhrmann‘s 2013 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It won two Oscars. In 2008, David Fincher’s adaptation of Fitzgerald’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which starred Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, won three Oscars.
Paradigm represents Auburn, while WME reps Landscape.