Released this past January as a novel, William Landay’s Defending Jacob is headed to the big screen. Variety has word that Warner Bros. has picked up the rights to the book, officially described as follows:
At home, Andy Barber is a quiet family man, a devoted husband and father. At work, he is a trusted senior prosecutor, the District Attorneys right hand and master trial lawyer. When a teenaged boy is found dead in the woods near Barbers suburban home, naturally he takes on the investigation, as he has countless homicides before. But the case may be Barbers undoing: in a terrifying swerve, Barbers own 14-year-old son, Jacob, is accused of the murder.
The boy insists he is innocent, and Barber rallies to his sons defense as any father would, he thinks, as any father must. But defending Jacob exacts a terrible price. Neighbors lock their doors against him. Jacobs classmates refuse to talk. Barbers marriage begins to crumble as his beloved wife Laurie buckles under the relentless pressure of suspicion. Finally, as Jacobs trial intensifies, Barber faces a trial of his own, in which he is forced to confront his own secret history, a past he thought hed buried long ago.
No talent is currently attached to the project, but check back for details as they develop.
