In a competitive situation, Vendome Pictures, which won an Oscar for CODA, has acquired the film and television rights to John Vaillon's nonfiction book on climate change, Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World. Added as an option.
The book was released in June 2023 to great acclaim and was announced after winning the Baillie Gifford Nonfiction Prize. It was also a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award. Selected as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Financial Times, and The Guardian, Among many other notable publications.
Vaillant takes readers to the middle of the hottest year of the hottest decade in recorded history, when a new type of fire is introduced to the world. The author examines the multibillion-dollar disaster that occurred in Fort McMurray, the heart of Canada's oil industry and the United States' largest foreign supplier. The disaster melted down vehicles, turned houses into incendiary bombs, and drove 88,000 people from the city in just one afternoon. The book calls this disruption “the wildfire equivalent of Hurricane Katrina.”
“The idea of addressing climate change by focusing on one of the most significant fires in North America inspired this story,” said Philippe Rousselet, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Vendôme. It was unique and appealing and perfectly suited Vendôme's tastes.” “John's telling of this pivotal disaster is not only gripping and exhilarating, but also a moving human story that challenges us all to reflect on the future of our planet.”
Vaillon added: “The opportunity to work with a team that understands personally and intuitively the growing threat of urban fires due to climate change is rare and exciting, and the film conveys the intensity of these events. The possibilities are virtually limitless,” he added.
Vaillant writes fiction as well as nonfiction. His first book, “The Golden Spruce,'' won the Governor General's Award, and his second nonfiction book, “The Tiger,'' won him the BC Nonfiction Award. In 2015 he published his first work of fiction. Children of the Jaguar has long been shortlisted for the Dublin IMPAC Prize and the Kirkus Fiction Prize, and was also shortlisted for the Writers Trust Fiction Prize.
The deal was brokered on behalf of Vendôme by the law firm of Sloss Eckhaus Dusty Haynes, and by CAA and the Stuart Krzyzewski Literary Agency on behalf of Vaillon.
Vendôme is known for producing CODA, which won three Oscars at the 2022 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The company is currently in pre-production on “Lord of War,” a sequel to the cult classic “Lord of War,” starring Academy Award winners Nicolas Cage and Bill Skarsgard and directed by Andrew Niccol. There is. The studio also recently acquired the scripted remake rights to the award-winning human rights documentary A Fire Within. In addition, Vendôme His Pictures and Pathé are collaborating with the Tony Award-winning Def His West Theater on the musical stage adaptations of CODA and Eveline, to be directed by Morten Tyldum.
