Warner Bros. buys 'Shannara' books

[JackFetch]

from The Hollywood Reporter

Warner Bros. Pictures is bringing Terry Brooks' "Shannara" fantasy book series to the big screen, picking up the rights to the series.

The Shannara series, which blends technology and magic, is set in a world decimated by apocalyptic battles, with mankind splitting into races of trolls, gnomes, dwarves and men, with elves coming out of hiding. Politics and war are waged using magic with a backdrop of the skeletal remains of skyscrapers and subways.

The first book, "The Sword of Shannara," was published by Random House in 1977, written by Brooks to stave off boredom brought on by entering law school. The book was the first fantasy book to get on, and then top, the New York Times best-seller list.

Brooks wrote more than a dozen books in the series, most recently 2005's "Straken." The studio is eyeing the second book, "The Elfstones of Shannara," as the book most likely to serve as the jumping off point. Writers are no being sought to adapt.

Dan Farah, who developed a relationship with the reclusive Brooks, will exec produce. Farah started out in the industry as a Benderspink intern, moving onto management company Energy before striking out on his own with shingle Farah Films and Management. Ryan Colucci ("Terra") is co-producing.