Catherine Fisher novels center on futuristic prison

Amber Entertainment has snapped up movie rights to Brit author Catherine Fisher’s young-adult fantasy novels “Incarceron” and “Sapphique.”

Amber’s Ileen Maisel will produce. Fisher and Lesley Pollinger of Pollinger are on board as exec producers via Pollinger’s sister company Paperclip Prods.

Project has been picked up out of turnaround. Fox 2000 optioned the novels in 2010 and set them up with John Palermo to produce via Seed Prods., sparking hopes of starting a young-adult franchise and leading to Fisher’s fans creating their own online trailers and cast wish lists.

“Incarceron,” published in 2007, centers on a young boy who lives in a futuristic prison in a world stuck in the 17th century but run by computers. The boy comes into contact with the warden’s daughter and they find a crystal key that can change everything.

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The sequel tome, “Sapphique,” was published in 2011. Both books make the New York Times bestseller list.

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“At last I can tell all the fans demanding a film of  ‘Incarceron’ that an exciting new project is under way,” Fisher said. “I’m delighted to be working with Ileen Maisel and Amber Entertainment. I know that they have the enthusiasm and expertise to produce the perfect film!”

Maisel has a short list of directors for the project. She recently finished filming fantasy actioner “Molly Moon,” an adaptation of Georgia Byng’s novel about an orphan who learns the art of hypnosis.

Amber is in post-production on “Romeo and Juliet,” starring Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth, and produced a feature adaptation of Judy Blume’s young adult novel “Tiger Eyes,” which has been set for a June release through Freestyle.

Maisel, a former New Line exec, noted that she worked on a similar project to “Incarceron” — 2007’s “The Golden Compass,” based on Philip Pullman’s novel.

Fisher’s fantasy sci-fier “The Obsidian Mirror” was published last year and she recently finished writing a sequel, “The Box of Red Brocade.”

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