Since its publication in 1993, the book The Giver has garnered heaping shovels full of praise, despite a crappy cover. The futuristic utopian tale even garnered a Newberry Medal, which blurs the fact quite a few adults have hopped aboard its fanwagon thanks to big words like "utopia".
Sadly, I missed the fanwagon when I picked The Giver up and landed on a scene where an infant is clinically killed via a needle to the fontanel. There was context, but having been a new pop to an infant at the time, I put it down and never revisited it– I’m just a big puss when it comes to stuff like that. Plus, you know, I had to finish my copy of "How to Get Past a Sixth Grade Reading Level".
But enough about me. Despite the universal goodwill The Giver has garnered since publication, it has struggled to make its way to the screen, stagnating through various production companies and studios. Thanks to all the languishing, a production clause lapsed and author Lois Lowry gained control over the novel once again. 7 days later, Warner was knocking and Lowry was answering.
The Giver illustrates a world where emotions have been suppressed and eliminated in an effort to create a utopia based on sameness. Kind of like an Abercrombie and Fitch store. So what happened to all those memories? They’re deposited into a human recipticle called "Reciever of Memories" in case they need them later. When the 12 year old Reciever starts to see how much A & F stinks, the winds of change start to blowin’.
Whether this pick-up actually makes it to the big screen on this round will remain to be seen, but producers Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher are pretty stoked on it actually happening this time.