Le Freak, C’est Chic

The first of Darren O’Shaughnessey’s 12 volume Vampire Blood novels, Cirque du Freak, is about to hit Hollywood with a release date sometime next year. Directed by American Pie and About A Boy helmer Paul Weitz and adapted by Mystic River and L.A Confidential scribe Brian Helgeland, the plot sees young Darren Shan (Josh Hutcherson - Bridge To Terabithia, Zathura) meet the mysterious Desmond Tiny, who just happens to be a vampire (typical - we hate it when that happens), at a freak show. After some off-the-wall shit, Darren is forced to leave his normal life and take to the road as a vampire. The film is getting a massive backing and the producers hope to rope in John C. Reilly (Magnolia, Boogie Nights) as Tiny.

O’Shaughnessey (below), who writes under the name Darren Shan, has been called a ‘master of horror’ by his publishers HarperCollins, but Darren was wary of how his vision would be treated by parents: "I ran all the arguments for the defence through my head in case of hostile interviewers - ready to explain why the books aren't a disgrace, that they had a strong moral underpinning. But in fact, there wasn't any outrage. No one, save the occasional parent or teacher, was up in arms at all. In fact, teachers and librarians have very often championed my books." (Telegraph.co.uk)

With the Harry Potter’s, Bridge To Terabithia, The Last Mimzy and The Dark Is Rising, kids’ movies have taken a darker slant with plots that refuse to talk down to them and TToH hope that Shan’s vision, which includes hellish demons, maggot-ridden corpses and freaky werewolves, will get a just adaptation. You can visit Darren’s website here.