Two months after the debut of musical rom-com “Marry Me,” starring Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson and Maluma, Bobby Crosby is getting another one of his Keenspot graphic novels adapted for the big screen. Israeli producer Uri Singer has secured the film and television rights to “Dreamless,” a Keenspot graphic novel by Crosby illustrated by Sarah Ellerton.

“Dreamless,” which was first a Keenspot webcomic in 2009 before being collected into a graphic novel, has been read by more than four million people worldwide. It is a romance about a girl from America and a boy from Japan, born on the same day in 1923. Since birth, they have somehow mind-swapped in their sleep, experiencing each other’s lives instead of dreaming. Then, their relationship is tested during World War II in young adulthood. The project is currently out to talent.

“I love ‘Dreamless,’ ” Singer told Variety. “We look forward to bringing this beautiful high-concept historical romance to the screen.”

Singer, known for co-producing the biopic “Tesla” starring Ethan Hawke and producing the sci-fi movie “Marjorie Prime” alongside director and writer Michael Almereyda, is currently expanding his IP slate. Singer is dipping into the rapidly growing market of popular webcomics and comic books, as well as retaining the rights to books such as “The Silence” by Don DeLillo, “Hocus Pocus” by Kurt Vonnegut and “Invitation to a Beheading” by Vladimir Nabokov.

“I always thought the best medium for this story was film, and I’m excited for people to experience it like they are meant to,” Crosby added.

Chris Crosby, the co-founder and CEO of Keenspot, will executive produce on behalf of the webcomics portal, along with the “Dreamless” creator, Isen Robbins and Aimee Schoof of Intrinsic Value Film & TV (“The Last Thing Mary Saw,” “Blue Caprice”) and Singer via his banner TaleFlick Productions.

Crosby’s “Marry Me” is considered the first North American webcomic to be adapted into a wide-release theatrical feature. The Universal Pictures film rose high on streaming charts on Valentine’s Day. Adapted by “She-Hulk” director Kat Coiro, “Marry Me” currently holds a 60% critics’ score and a 92% audience score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Thus far, it has been Peacock’s top-performing day-and-date release title on the streaming platform.

Keenspot’s other webcomic-to-screen adaptation in development is “Grubbs,” an all-ages story that draws inspiration from “Calvin & Hobbes” and “Dennis the Menace.” M.J. Offen will pen the animated series adaptation and serve as showrunner, co-producing with Keenspot’s Chris Crosby, Bobby Crosby and “Grubbs” creator Max Weaver. Keenspot’s comics are exclusively distributed to bookstores by Simon & Schuster and to comic shops by Diamon Comic Distributors, Inc.

“Dreamless” executive producers Robbins and Schoof are repped by Ramo Law; Singer is repped by Carissa Knol at Knol Law PC.

Source: Read Full Article