Universal Pictures has snapped up the rights to a children’s fantasy manuscript titled Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper as a possible directing vehicle for Gary Ross, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Ross and his Larger Than Life partner Allison Thomas will produce the live-action adaptation along with Ellen Goldsmith-Vein of the Gotham Group.
Written by first-time novelist Michael Reisman, the young-adult novel, the first in an intended series, follows an 11-year-old boy and his two friends who get possession of a physics book that enables them to alter the physical properties of the world, including gravity.
The book describes a magical world based on physical laws of science, and future installments will incorporate other sciences, such as biology and chemistry. The book will be published in August by Penguin.