Winning Jeopardy gets Whiz Kid ‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close’ with Stephen Daldry

Hollywood casting agents can now look no further than Jeopardy when searching for smart, young talent. Thirteen year-old Thomas Horn has signed on to star in Stephen Daldry’s film adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” after winning $31,800 in prize money on Jeopardy back in October. His pay day on the film should make those winnings look like play money. Daldry, best known for directing The Hours and The Reader, required an exceptionally intelligent kid to fill the title role penned by Oscar-winning scribe Eric Roth of Forrest Gump and Munich fame. Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullocks have also signed on to play Horn’s parents in the film and the young actor will undoubtedly learn a great from the two veteran actors. Scott Rudin is producing the film, which is a co-production between Warner Bros. and Paramount. Shooting is set for late-January in New York City.

Gist: The novel surrounds a nine-year-old boy named Oskar Schell, whose father is killed in the WTC North Tower on 9/11. When he discovers a key in his father’s belongings two years later, he sets out on a cathartic journey to discover what it unlocks.

Worth Noting: Horn became a champion after wagering $12,000 in Final Jeopardy. During the program, he proclaimed he wouldn’t do well if asked a question about pop culture. As the trades say it, he will now, ironically, become a part of it.

Do We Care?: Besides the newcomer, it’s an all-star production behind the camera. Daldry does have a solid C.V when working with young thesps as we saw in Billy Elliot‘s Jamie Bell and David Kross in The Reader. Despite the novel receiving more negative reviews than positive, a film adaption of this caliber will hold our attention for now.