Another strong woman has caught the eye of James Cameron.
The filmmaker, known for his tough female protagonists in movies ranging from Aliens to Terminator 2 to Dark Angel, has taken an shine to The Informationist, a novel by Taylor Stevens whose main character has been compared to Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander.
Cameron and his Lightstorm Entertainment banner have picked up the movie rights to book, with the intent of developing an adaptation as a directing vehicle for 20th Century Fox Film.
PHOTOS: Premiere of James Cameron's Titanic 3D
It also puts a project into development for the filmmaker after he vowed earlier this year that he only going to make Avatar movies. The aim is to tackle Informationist after he finishes the second and third installments of his Avatar franchise.
Informationist centers on Vanessa “Michael” Munroe, a woman born in central Africa who spent her teenaged years as a protégé of gunners and mercenaries. She reinvents herself as an information dealer for wealthy clients but when a billionaire hires her to find his daughter who went missing in Africa, Munroe finds herself back in the Dark Continent.
The character has been described as an action heroine with shades of Salander and Sherlock Holmes.
The book was published by Crown in March 2011. A second book was released earlier this year.
Cameron will produce with Lightstorm partner Jon Landau. The producers are out to writers and expect to hire one shortly.
The writer-director is currently working on his Avatar sequels, of which he hopes to direct back-to-back. Earlier this year he told the New York Times he wasn’t developing new project and only “in the Avatar business. Period. That’s it.”
Looks like Vanessa Munroe made him change his mind.
Cameron is repped by CAA, who also repped Taylor in the deal. Taylor is also repped by Anne Hawkins of John Hawkins & Associates Inc.
