Anne McCaffrey's best-selling and long-running sci-fi/fantasy series THE DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN will fly into theaters via Canadian production company Copperheart Ent, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
Copperheart, which produced Chris Landreths 2005 Oscar-winning animated short RYAN, has optioned the 19-book series, which began with DRAGONFLIGHT in 1968.
In DRAGONFLIGHT, the colonists of Pern have discovered that silver "threads" from their sister planet threaten all live on their new planet. To combat this menace, the inhabitants of Pern develop a species of dragon that can burn these threads out of the sky before they touch down. Centuries have passed between threadfalls, which are now considered a myth. However, a telepathic dragon rider named F'lar knows that the riders are once again needed.
McCaffrey was the first woman ever to win a Hugo for fiction. She is also one of the 2006 inductees into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
"I decided that PERN had to be done right, and I wouldn't let it go to someone unless I was certain that they were committed to excellence," McCaffrey said.
Copperheart, run by Steve Hoban, has produced the Imax 3-D movie CYBERWORLD as well as the popular GINGER SNAPS horror series. Hoban is in post-production on the remake of the 1970s horror cult classic BLACK CHRISTMAS.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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