Deadline.com is reporting that J. Michael Straczynski has bought an option on Harlan Ellison‘s classic story, “Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman” (originally published in the December 1965 issue of Galaxy and winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards). The option was granted directly to Straczynski, though his production house, Studio JMS, will manage the production.
Deadline remarks that this, the first option on the story, was a long time in coming, and notes that Ellison “has had a tough time in Hollywood, and it sounds like a lot of it is because of his uncompromising manner.” Further, they say that, in order to win the option, Straczynski had to deliver a finished screenplay before Ellison agreed to the deal. But Deadline neglects to mention their previous relationship: Ellison was a creative consultant for and strong proponent of Straczynski’s Babylon 5.
Deadline says that, “Now that the script is done, Straczynski will look for production partners and a director, and the first parties he will approach will be Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.” They also note that “this is the first project not self-generated by Straczynski to be hatched at his shingle Studio JMS.”