Los Angeles based production company BCDF Pictures has recently acquired the rights to the YA fantasy series The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey. On what streaming platform will this land? Only time will tell! BCDF is currently trying to sell the show. The bestselling YA series was published by Penguin Random House in 2016 to critical acclaim, so it’s no wonder why BCDF optioned the rights to adapt it for the screen.
The Company
BCDF Pictures has a large roster of literary acquisitions in various stages of development, with two films currently in production. To Leslie stars Andrea Riseborough of Mandy and Birdman fame, and Marc Maron. The Hating Game, starring Lucy Hale, is another YA novel adaptation by author Sally Thorne currently in production at BCDF.
It seems as though The Girl at Midnight is right at home with BCDF Pictures and will be in good hands. The production company says it envisions this series as Buffy The Vampire Slayer meets Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere.
The Plot
In essence, The Girl at Midnight is about a runaway orphan girl, Echo who was adopted by a race of feather-haired magical creatures called the Avicen, who live under the streets of New York City. Echo is the only mortal who can perceive the creatures. She finds herself caught up in an ancient war between her adopted family, the Avicen, and a mythical race of dragon people known as the Drakharin. Are you following all of this? There will be a quiz at the end of the article!
The Screenwriter
Screenwriter Chris Hill, an experienced adapter of literature for the screen and no stranger to writing YA fantasy, has signed on to write the script for The Girl at Midnight. Hill got his start in Hollywood as a contributing writer on the TV show Skins and has since gone on to write several films and TV shows.
“One needs only a single match to start a fire”. Excited to announce this! Can’t wait to bring this unique world and Echo & Co. to life, while staying faithful to the vision of its fabulous author @meligrey – may this announcement be that match… https://t.co/C38dcn5q1M
— Chris Hill (@chrishillwrites) January 8, 2021
In addition to writing the script for The Girl at Midnight, Hill is also working on adapting a non-fiction book for Origin Pictures in the form of Tether, based on the book Victory By Blindness by Joseph Ngunjiri about an on-the-rise Kenyan runner who was blinded by a stroke and went on to become the first African to win a Paralympic gold medal by tethering himself to a guide.
Last year BCDF picked up Hill’s spec pilot, The Shadows, a YA supernatural fantasy that went into development with AwesomenessTV for ViacomCBS. BCDF and Chris Hill have a productive working relationship and we look forward to seeing what they come up with for The Girl at Midnight series. Two possible sequels follow the original book: The Shadow Hour and The Savage Dawn.
Patrick Salway is a writer, musician, and actor living in Los Angeles. Follow him on social media @blone_noble and @veneer_publications. Listen to VENEER.
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