They may need to change their slogan to “It’s Not TV, It’s Books.”

Neil Gaiman told a crowd at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Monday that he will be adapting American Gods for HBO. The deal, which was announced, in June has now been finalized. In the original announcement, The Hollywood Reporter said it was the next project for Tom Hanks’ Playtone production company, with an expected debut of 2013 at the earliest.

The 2001 book was reissued as a hardcover “Author’s Preferred Text 10th Anniversary Edition” in June.

American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition: A Novel Neil Gaiman Retail Price: $26.99 Hardcover: 560 pages Publisher: William Morrow – (2011-06-21) ISBN / EAN: 0062059882 / 9780062059888

HBO has had some success with book adaptations, including Game of Thrones (season two begins in April), Too Big to Fail, Mildred Pierce and John Adams.  A roster of other  book-related projects are in the works:

The Day the Laughter Stopped  — a film about the downfall of silent screen star Fatty Arbuckle based on The Day the Laughter Stopped by David A. Yallop (St. Martins, 1976; now out of print, but still owned by many libraries). Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) has signed to play the tragic star, with Barry Levinson directing.

The Leftovers  — based on the forthcoming novel by Tom Perotta (St. Martin’s, 8/30) about what happens to those who are left behind after “The Rapture.” Variety reported last week that HBO is developing a series based on the book.

Earlier announcements:

HBO Film: Game Change

Producer: Playtone (Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman)
Director: Jay Roach
Starring: Julianne Moore (Sarah Palin), Ed Haris (John McCain), Woody Harrelson (Steve Schmidt, McCain’s campaign strategist)
Based on: Book by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (Harper, 2010) about  John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Status: Wrapping; Moore as Palin, above.

More projects after the jump:

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Title: Hemingway and Gellhorn
Director: Philip Kaufman
Status: Filming completed in Oakland, CA, summer, 2011; set to air in “coming months”
Cast: Nicole Kidman … Martha Gellhorn; Clive Owen … Ernest Hemingway
Not based on a particular book; Gellhorn was the inspiration for Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls

……………………..

Title: A Visit from the Goon Squad

Based on: Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Jennifer Egan.
Status: Announced April, 20, 2011; no news since

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Title: The Knitting Circle

Based on: Novel by Ann Hood
Status: Announced April, 9, 2011 that Katherine Heigl (Gray’s Anatomy) will produce and star; no news since

……………………..

Title: Olive Kitteridge

Status: Script was being shopped to HBO (Deadline, 8/10/10); no news since
Producer: Frances McDormand
Based on: Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout

……………………..

Movie Title: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Status: Announced 5/12/10 that Oprah’s Harpo Films and Alan Ball would produce for HBO, but no news since
Based on:  Rebecca Skloot’s 2010 nonfiction best seller

……………………..

Title: I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie

Based on: I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, memoir by Pamela des Barres
Status: Announced that Zooey Deschanel will star in pilot, (Deadline Hollywood, 2/2/10); no news since

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Title: HBO series, Mind

Starring: Charlize Theron
Based on: Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John Douglas and Mark Olshakerk, about Douglas’ experiences as an FBI investigator and the unique profiling techniques he developed.
Status: Announced, 1/28/10; no news since

……………………..

Title: I Was Told There’d Be Cake 

Starring: Charlize Theron
Based on: I Was Told There’d Be Cake a series of comic essays by Sloane Crosley
Status: Deal was announced by the L.A. Times in July, 2008; no news since.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 at 4:38 pm and is filed under Books & TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.