Good news, Gaimanites! With Stardust just months away, the Gaiman-scripted Beowulf coming hot on its heels and Coraline having given a few sneak peeks at ComicCon, author Neil Gaiman has never been hotter, Hollywood-ically speaking. And now it looks like Neverwhere is going into production as well, with David Slade directing.
For those of you not up on your British fantasy authors of impeccable pedigree (shame on you!), this is a novel Gaiman wrote after writing the same story as a script for a BBC mini-series in 1996 (along with Lenny Henry, incidentally).
The series is based around an ordinary guy in London who finds, after taking in an injured girl he meets on the street, that he's involved himself in a massive conspiracy from London Below, and fading away from the memories of everyone in the upper world as a result. Along with his guide, Door, he enters the London underground (aka London Below) where there really are Black Friars, and the Nightsbridge is a terrifying crossing.
Gaiman told MTV that this version's set to be based on a script he wrote, based on the novel, in 2000. If it goes ahead, we can hope that it will look a bit spiffier than the BBC version, shot on cheapo video - and certainly Slade's involvement is a step in the right direction. His **Hard Candy **was one of the most arresting debuts in years, and what we've seen of 30 Days of Night looks, if anything, better. It's also a good fit of director to subject - Slade has a very black, very twisted sense of humour that should play rather well off Neverwhere. And after years of rumours about this, and Sandman, and Good Omens, let's hope that Gaiman's time is finally here.