John Grisham’s coming back to a theater near you, and it sounds like one of his better books is coming with him. The Testament is only the second book Grisham’s held the rights close to his heart after A Time to Kill (my favorite of the four Grisham books I’ve read and a solid movie), a project he was hesitant to share unless the right team came together.
That team is among others, producers Hunt (A Time to Kill, HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP!) Lowry and Mark (a great many things) Johnson. With input from Grisham, the tale of the uncertain fate of billions of inheritance dollars and a voyage into the Brazilian jungle bodes to have more quality control than some of the earlier efforts.
I got a quick quote from Mark Johnson, one of the producers of the film (and a really super chap) about the prospective film. It’s one of his dream projects, having chased Grisham for a long, long time.
”
I’ve been chasing it for so long and that I
think it’s the perfect combination of legal thriller and exotic redemption
story“, says he.
From what I’ve taken it, it appears to be a more textured and less generic of Grisham’s works, though I’ve enjoyed most of his books even if they’re the embodiment of beach reads. This one sounds a little more like something for the mainstream and those looking for more intellectual fare. That stuff’s in short supply outside the arthouses these days. We’ll see what kind of talent they get to make the thing but I can tell you from firsthand experience that Mark Johnson is as aces as they get and the kind of producer you want helping steer the ship.