Movie News

Fishburne and LOTR chief turn Alchemists

Thu 28 Jun 1:20 PM

Actor Laurence Fishburne is teaming up with the producer of The Lord Of The Rings to bring bestselling novel The Alchemist to the big screen.

The Matrix star will not only direct the movie, but is also adapting the book by author Paolo Coelho into a screenplay after he bought the rights from Hollywood studio Warner Brothers.

Barry Osborne, one of the producers of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is on board as well to turn the book into "a Harry Potter meets Indiana Jones" sweeping adventure.

The Alchemist is a fable about a young shepherd boy who travels the world pursuing his dreams. Since it was first published in 1998 the book has sold over 40m copies in 150 countries and been translated into 56 languages.

It's the second time Fishburne has taken the director's chair - his debut being for the 2000 drama Once in the Life, which he also wrote. But he's not quit acting altogether - Fishburne is currently shooting a crime thriller called Tortured, in which he plays a FBI boss facing a dilemma when asked to torture a mafia chief.

With another two films in the pipeline - Vietnam War drama The Last Full Measure and 4Chosen, a film about four African-American basketball players facing racial discrimination - Fishburne's certainly going to be busy.