Focus Is On ‘The Galton Case’

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Revivalist filmmaking is in full swing. Focus Features has teamed up once again with Random House Films to pull a classic from the publishing giant’s backlist. The 1959 mystery classic The Galton Case was originally written by Ross McDonald and represented a breakout for the writer and his lead Lew Archer. While audiences have become accustomed to the crime solving stylings of modern television and movies, project leader Peter Gethers says he believes the philosophical and narrative elements in story could turn it into a hit akin to “L.A. Confidential” or even “A History of Violence,” given the story’s emphasis on long-buried secrets.

The project will be developed by Gethers and Focus Features James Schamus, who is best known for his Academy Award® winning features “Brokeback Mountain” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. Random House Films is also teaming up with Focus Features for projects, which include the character driven Reservation Road(2007), the politically charged Curveball(2008), and Dean Koontz’s The Husband(2007). Despite the fact that McDonald has not had a major screen adaptation in decades, RH Films hopes that the productions will spur interest in the company’s gigantic backlist and subsequently spark increased sales in their book division.

The films represent Random House’s mission to choose more diverse genres for production. As the country’s largest publishing house, the company has a virtually unlimited supply of topics from which to choice options. The deep diversity of the projects currently in development showcases the group’s ability to locate specs diverse enough to reach virtually every audience.