Catherine Hardwicke to direct teen series by James Patterson?

Catherine Hardwicke is in talks with Sony’s Columbia Pictures to develop and direct a film adaptation of "Maximum Ride,” a teen fantasy series with a few similarities to “Twilight,” the vampire flick that made Hardwicke a household name.

Written by James Patterson, the 5-book series follows the lives of six teens, known as the Flock, who are genetically altered to be part human and part bird. They escape the lab where they’ve been kept and are chased by a pack of creatures called the Erasers that are part human and part wolf.

Hmmm … beings that fly, chased by wolves, teenagers … maybe Hardwicke is building a career bringing these fantasy books to life. I haven’t read much James Patterson, but maybe it’s time to check it out. Here’s the list on Amazon.com.

Patterson will executive produce the movie; Don Payne, who wrote “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” is writing a screenplay. Let’s hope it’s better than “Silver Surfer.”

Image: Newscom