WB, LaGravanese Bewitched By Book

With Harry Potter and his wizard friends ready to graduate Hogwarts, Warner Bros. has gone back to the cauldron to stir up a new coming-of-age witch franchise.

Studio has acquired “Beautiful Creatures,” the first of a five-novel series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl that is published Dec. 1 by Little, Brown.

Richard LaGravanese is set to write the script and direct the film.

Erwin Stoff will produce.

Ethan Wate, a popular high school student, hates living in a small in South Carolina where nothing happens—until he meets and becomes bewitched by Lena Duchanne, a 16-year old whose family has moved back to town and who wishes for a mundane life.  The star-crossed couple has to confront an age old curse that has haunted her family for generations, as she comes to grips with her powers.

While LaGravanese has written/directed several female-centric films—“P.S. I Love You” is the most recent—this is his first film foray into the supernatural. 

“I love supernatural stories that have well drawn mythologies, and I liked that this book has all the basic elements of a classic first love story with a supernatural layer over it,” LaGravanese said. “So the first time they hear the words boyfriend and girlfriend, they accidentally overhear each other telepathically. Their first kiss comes after he saves her life and their first date is part of a bigger adventure that leads to the unraveling of the mysterious curse that haunts her family.”

LaGravanese most recently scripted “Water for Elephants,” an adaptation of the Sara Gruen novel for Fox 2000 with Francis Lawrence directing and Reese Witherspoon attached to star, and “Liberace,” the Steven Soderbergh-directed pic that has Michael Douglas attached to play the title character and Matt Damon attached to play his lover. Both films are on track to begin production next year.

CAA brokered the book deal with The Gernert Company.