Books are adapted to screenplays all the time. Same goes for plays and short stories. Even newspaper articles.
Big Beach and Duplass Brothers Productions are adapting a classified ad from "Backwoods Home Magazine" into a movie called "Safety Not Guaranteed."
Granted, it's a really compelling classified ad:
"WANTED," it says, "Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke ... You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before."
Of course, the ad was a joke. The guy who wrote it was goofing.
But the writing team of Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly saw the possibilities -- and with Trevorrow directing, have put together an impressive indie cast.
Jeff Garlin, the hilarious Jeff Greene -- and executive producer -- on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," joins Kristen Bell, Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake M. Johnson, Jenica Bergere, Karan Soni, Lynn Shelton and Mary Lynn Rajskup in the ensemble comedy.
The movie imagines a trio of magazine employees who investigate the ad.
Big Beach finances and produces indie features and documentaries, and focuses on smart stuff like "Little Miss Sunshine," "Away We Go," "Sunshine Cleaning" and "Jack Goes Boating."
Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf founded Big Beach in 2004.
"Safety Not Guaranteed" is Trevorrow's directoral debut, and production began in Seattle in April. Stephanie Langhoff is producing for the Duplass Brothers. John Hodges and Michael Clark are supervising the production for Big Beach.
