DreamWorks Studios has acquired the film rights to the Michael Crichton novel, “Micro,” it was announced Friday by Michael Wright, CEO of DreamWorks Studios. Frank Marshall is on board to produce, with Sherri Crichton and Laurent Bouzereau set as executive producers for CrichtonSun LLC.
The high-concept thriller follows a group of graduate students lured to Hawaii to work for a mysterious biotech company—only to find themselves miniaturized and cast out into the rain forest, with nothing but their scientific expertise and wits to protect them.
“Micro” was unfinished when Michael Crichton passed away in 2008, later completed by author Richard Preston and published by HarperCollins in 2011. It was a New York Times bestseller and spent over 20 weeks combined on the list in hardcover and paperback.
“We are so pleased to have this opportunity to develop ‘Micro,’” said Steven Spielberg. “For Michael, size did matter whether it was for ‘Jurassic’s’ huge dinosaurs or ‘Micro’s’ infinitely tiny humans.”
“Michael Crichton’s vast body of work has thrilled audiences around the world for decades, and it feels particularly poignant to be bringing his last published novel to DreamWorks,” said Michael Wright. “This is the perfect place to unite these two dynamic brands.”
“Michael was exhilarated, passionate and invested in ‘Micro,’ a story he spent years researching and developing,” said Sherri Crichton. “It was yet another opportunity for him to explore the clash between science and nature, as seen through the eyes of relatable characters. Michael also wrote in cinematic terms and would be so pleased to see ‘Micro’ come to life on the big screen at DreamWorks.”
In 2009, DreamWorks Studios acquired the rights to another posthumously published Crichton novel, “Pirate Latitudes.”
The library of Michael Crichton is one of the most important sources of intellectual property in the world. One of the most popular writers of all time, Crichton’s books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide. His works have been translated into 40 languages, and made into 15 feature films.
Crichton’s novels include “Jurassic Park,” “The Andromeda Strain,” “The Great Train Robbery,” “Eaters of the Dead,” “Congo,” “Sphere,” “Rising Sun,” “Disclosure,” “The Lost World,” “Airframe,” “Timeline,” “Prey,” “Next,” “State of Fear,” and the posthumously published “Pirate Latitudes” and “Micro.”
Crichton was also prolific as a writer, director and producer of film and television. He was the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television drama “ER,“ wrote and directed films including “Westworld,” “The Great Train Robbery,” and “Coma” and was the screenwriter of “Jurassic Park” and “Rising Sun,” among others.
The rich environment created by Crichton lives on in Universal’s blockbuster film, “Jurassic World,” starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, the fourth installment in the “Jurassic Park” film series.
Crichton’s 1973 sci-fi film, “Westworld,” also inspired the upcoming series of the same name starring Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood and Rodrigo Santoro, which is set to debut on HBO later this year.
Crichton is the only creative artist in history to have works simultaneously chart at No. 1 in U.S. television, film and books sales.
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.
Photo courtesy: The Official Site of Michael Crichton
