Fans of author and screenwriter Andrew Klavan are accustomed to seeing his award-winning work adapted for the big screen. And though interest from major production companies continues for adaptation of the Homelanders Series, one middle school class from Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Jefferson City, Missouri couldn’t wait any longer. After reading the first in the series, The Last Thing I Remember (Thomas Nelson), in class and falling in love with the story, the students wrote to Klavan to receive his blessing and decided to create a film based on the novel themselves.
With only four weeks left of school, the students got to work. From creating their own script to holding casting auditions for the roles, the entire project was driven by the students’ enthusiasm for seeing the story come to life. With the support of their Jeni DeFeo, they produced a short film and hosted a red carpet premiere on the last day of school.
DeFeo kept Klavan in the loop about the students’ work and shared the final cut of the film. DeFeo awarded “Oscars” to each student, and the class sent one for Klavan as well.
“It’s amazing,” remarks Klavan. “Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a film adaptation of my work more. When you’ve got a teacher like Jeni, and kids willing to put in this kind of effort: to find out that something I wrote gave them some inspiration, well, really, it made my day—my week!”
Despite his busy schedule following the release of If We Survive and gearing up for the release of his next standalone young adult novel, Nightmare City (coming in November), Klavan loved watching the students’ adaptation of his novel.
Video:
The Last Thing I Remember- By DeFeo Reading Crew
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Charlie West just woke up in someone else’s nightmare.
He’s strapped to a chair. He’s covered in blood and bruises. He hurts all over. And a strange voice outside the door just ordered his death.
The last thing he can remember, he was a normal high-school kid doing normal things—working on his homework, practicing karate, daydreaming of becoming an air force pilot, writing a pretty girl’s number on his hand. How long ago was that? Where is he now? Who is he really?
And more to the point—how is he going to get out of this room alive?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Andrew Klavan was hailed by Stephen King as “the most original novelist of crime and suspense since Cornell Woolrich.” He is the recipient of two Edgar Awards and the author of such bestsellers as True Crime and Don’t Say a Word. His upcoming novel, Nightmare City, will release in November 2013.