Recently, more and more film adaptations are being announced for books that have yet to be published. That’s basically the greatest thing that could happen to an author. After all, what better way to get people to buy your book than to have a movie announced starring an A-list actor. Well, that is the sales boost Adam Sternbergh is set to see as his sci-fi thriller Shovel Ready has Denzel Washington attached to star.
Details on the film are fairly sparse, and the same goes for the book. The book doesn’t even release for another 6 months, so it’ll likely be quite a while until anything concrete arises. What we do know so far is the story centers around a garbageman turned hitman who, when tasked to kill the daughter of a maniacal evangelist, chooses to protect the young girl instead of killing her. (Man on Fire anyone?) The story is set in a dystopian bombed-out New York where much of the population escapes reality by tapping into a digital fantasy world (perhaps Virtuosity elements as well?)
Regardless of how similar this story is to roles Washington has played before, it sounds very interesting, and there’s still plenty of time and story left for it to distance itself from what we’ve already seen. If it does continue to follow Washington’s previous roles, then we at least know he’s the ideal man for the part.
Sternbergh is currently the culture editor of The New York Times Magazine. This will be his first published novel, and it’s coming to us through Crown Publishing.
We still don’t have word of any production timetable for the film but we’ll let you know when we hear more.
What do you think of Denzel Washington starring in Shovel Ready? Does the story interest you? Will you be picking up a copy of the book? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.