Michael Bay to Direct I Am Number Four?
Michael Bay is undertaking a new sci-fi venture to produce and possibly direct. DreamWorks is firming up a deal to preemptively acquire screen rights to I Am Number Four, the first of a six-book science fiction deal that has Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Bay aboard to produce and possibly direct.
The franchise is about a group of nine earthbound alien teens who escaped their planet just before it was destroyed by a hostile species. While the high school-aged kids assimilate, the title character discovers that he is being hunted by the enemy that blew up his planet.
One of the more unusual developments is that one of the book’s two authors was said to be James Frey, the infamous author who penned A Million Little Pieces. The book was shopped around under psedonyms, but a source for the trade indicates that Frey is one of the authors of the new book. The studio wouldn’t confirm if Frey is indeed one of the authors.
The deal puts Bay right back in business with DreamWorks, Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider. It is expected that Spielberg will be active in a behind-the-scenes capacity, similar to the godfather role he has played in the Transformers franchise.
