Transformers producer Don Murphy is set to produce an adaptation of a sci-fi novel called The Flock, by James Robert Smith.

The book tells the story of a group of highly intelligent giant prehistoric birds discovered in the Florida Everglades who are intent on protecting their ancient home when faced with encroachment by theme park developers.

So… sort of like every save-the-forest-from-the-developers story… except the protagonists are super intelligent birds.  Ahh, sci-fi novelists, so delightfully batsh-t. How did Murphy hear of this book, you ask?

Murphy discovered Smith and his book by chance. Murphy was on the blog of Eddie Campbell, the artist of “From Hell,” an Alan Moore graphic novel whose big-screen translation was produced by Murphy.  Smith was posting comments critical of the film, putting Murphy on the defensive. Eager to find out more about the poster, Murphy discovered Smith had written a book. He quickly ordered it, expecting to hate it and ready to trash it. To his surprise, he fell for it. [THR]

It’s kind of like the internet’s version of a human-interest story, a sort of angry-bitter-nerd-makes-good tale.  I think the key was tricking someone who makes movies based on toys into reading a sci-fi novel.  “So these ‘books,’ – pretty good, huh?  All this time I had no idea there were so full of mutants and talking animals.”

Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke won’t be directing the Twilight sequel, but she’s found another project that’s even better!

Hardwicke is in talks to direct a film adaptation of another young-adult fantasy series, “Maximum Ride.”   The five-volume series by James Patterson chronicles six teens, known as the Flock, who are genetically altered so that they are part human and part bird. Learning to fly, they escape the laboratory where they have been housed and are pursued by a pack of creatures called the Erasers that are part human and part wolf. [Yahoo]

Patterson isn’t a Mormon housewife like Stephenie Meyers so this probably won’t be an abstinence parable, but he did sell 16 million books in 2007. That’s one out of every 15 novels sold.  Also, I don’t know if I mentioned this or not, this book is about HUMAN-BIRD HYBRIDS.  I always wondered what those books they sell at Wal-Mart were about.  I hope at some point, they poop on the bad guy’s car.