According to Deadline Hollywood, Focus Features and Playtone are securing the rights to “The Ocean at the End of the Lane,” the new novel from Neil Gaiman. Normally, that would be exciting enough news on its own, but there’s a glimmer of hope that this one won’t sit sadly on a shelf somewhere because Joe Wright is on deck to direct the adaptation. The synopsis of the book from Good Reads: “It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond the world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and menace unleashed – within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it. His only defense is three women, on a farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duckpond is an ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang.” But you know, it’s the man who made Hanna, Atonement and Anna Karenina taking on a modern literary genius. Do the details really even matter? And when we we getting that “Good Omens” movie anyway?…

It’s not a director known for mysteries. It’s a director that remains a mystery because author Neil Gaiman isn’t naming names yet. That’s smart, especially at this early stage of development. However, Gaiman has confirmed (via Digital Spy) that his novel “American Gods” – which sees a world of mythology transplanted to the United States through the eyes of an ex-con named Shadow – has a cinematographer and a director on board who are ready to develop it. It’s a director he admires, because Gaiman calls him a genius and mentions several Oscar wins. Those accolades are all well and good, but we’ll all have to hold our breath to see if the people with the money feel so strongly. But it will be worth it. Gaiman’s work is incredible, and seeing another one of his stories on screen is always something to get excited about. Now, let the speculation commence. What director has won more than one Oscar and might be considered a genius by another genius?

As the only literate Reject, it’s my duty to find the latest, the greatest and the untouched classics that would make great source material for film adaptations. I read so you don’t have to. The end of the world is coming pretty soon, and the best way to be prepared for it is to read this book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Don’t be caught with your pants down during the end times. Know your future, gird your loins, avoid gorgeous red heads that make you angry for no apparent reason, and keep a close eye on that neighborhood gang of kids that seems totally harmless. They’re probably hanging out with the Antichrist.

As the only literate Reject, it’s my duty to find the latest, the greatest and the untouched classics that would make great source material for film adaptations. I read so you don’t have to. There is a noticeable lack of the kind of imaginative children’s movies that echo the tone and style of Labyrinth, The NeverEnding Story or even The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. There are great family films out there these days, but many that set sail for the boundaries of imagination to meet fantastical characters along the way to a lesson. The Narnia movies come to mind, but they really fell flat. It’s time that we all went on another adventure together. I’m proposing that someone readies the Basset to set a course for somewhere we’ve never been before.

There’s absolutely no reason for me to explain to you about how author Neil Gaiman is a great writer. His accolades are too numerous to count in one little news blurb. But lets say this: Gaiman is one of the most iconic and prolific science fiction and fantasy writers of the modern era. Also prolific is the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, for which Gaiman will be writing an upcoming episode.

From Henry Selick, the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Neil Gaiman, one of the most brilliant writers of our time, comes the clever and delightfully dark tale of a young girl named Coraline and her wild adventure into an alternate reality.

Neil finally returns to the Magical Studio in the Sky with stories from the land of milk and honey, otherwise known as the Sundance Film Festival. Kevin celebrates the return by berating him for only seeing one movie this week, although Neil defends himself because he saw 143 movies at the festival.

Three new Coraline web trailers just hit the internets, and they either look creepy, fantastic, or creepy fantastic.

Does anyone actually want to see a Dr. Strange movie? Kevin Feige apparently does. And he’s the President of Production at Marvel Studios, so that might actually mean something.

Director Erik Nelson’s engaging doc serves as a great introduction to the crazy world of author Harlan Ellison. [Grade: B]

Though the beginning was a touch weak, the movie gets better and better as the story progresses.

Despite the flaws that keepBeowulf from being a nearly great film, at the end of the day you have to give Robert Zemeckis a pat on the back.

We hear that 3D glasses give some people headaches. So, in order to dull the pain, we offer the Beowulf drinking game. Toast a glass of mead (or Coors Light, for all we care) with the Danish warriors.

Beowulf has everything you’d need for a great motion picture. It has a great story, an awesome conflict, incredible actors and all of Hollywood’s digital technology thrown behind it. The biggest stumbling block it has is its director.