DreamWorks Coughs Up For Fountain

The rights to the debut novel of Scream director Wes Craven - The Fountain Society - has been snapped up by DreamWorks Pictures for a cool $1 million. Craven himself is attached to direct as well as executive produce the film, and much to his bank manager's pleasure, the total deal could be worth $5 million if both the flick and book perform well. The film follows the last days of a cancer-ridden Dr. Peter Janze, a top weapons development scientist on a secret government project. When a longtime friend and colleague offers him a new lease on life, Janze becomes the unwitting guinea pig in a governmental genetics project delving into human cloning and the search for the fountain of youth. The book will be published this Autumn by Simon & Schuster. Shooting is expected to begin in spring or summer of 2000, after Craven finishes work on Scream 3. He is currently in post-production on 50 Violins, starring Meryl Streep. Nothing as yet is set in stone and Craven could of course change his mind; he is not expected to write the picture's screenplay but as yet no screenwriter is attached to the project.