Sam Raimi Tapped To Adapt The Given Day

We get news today that an upcoming book by Dennis Lehane has already been picked up for adaptation under the eye of Raimi. We get the scoop from the professionals at Variety:

“The Given Day” is set in 1919 Boston, with the city in turmoil as soldiers are returning home from WWI, having brought back an epidemic of Spanish influenza. Attempts to unionize the police department have set the stage for a historic strike and two cops take center stage.”While it deals with many of the same themes as (Lehane’s) earlier work, it is also his most ambitious book, tying events of a century ago to the subjects we struggle with today,” Raimi said. The book will be published by HarperCollins on Sept. 23.

Books by the Dorchester, Mass.-born Lehane have proved popular for directors. Clint Eastwood directed “Mystic River,” and Ben Affleck made his directing debut on “Gone Baby Gone.” Martin Scorsese has nearly completed production on “Shutter Island,” with Leonardo DiCaprio in the starring role.

Police officers on strike remind me of Robocop. A city without law enforcement is a place where you are able to see the moral fiber of your citizens, and quick. If law enforcement is the only reason your citizens don’t live a life of crime, then the town is destined for doom; the lack of police simply speeds up the process. No police also makes for awesome riot scenes in film!

The early 1900’s is an interesting time in which to set a movie. We can relate to the conveniences that are starting to emerge for people in the period, but I am always amazed at how quickly technology has developed from their time to ours. In less than 100 years we have certainly made incredible leaps, and never is this more apparent then when we see an accurate depiction of this period in film. We get to see how they lived and can easily compare to our present day to day.

We will know more about this project when the book starts to get devoured Sept. 23, and will be sure to keep you up to speed on the progress.