New York, NY (Top40 Charts / Pilato Entertainment) Radar
Pictures has secured the rights to Karn Evil 9, the futuristic rock song from Emerson, Lake & Palmer, to develop as a science fiction film. New York Times best-selling author
Daniel H. Wilson is writing the script, centered on a society that has drained all its blood with a dependence on technology. Michael Napoliello and
Maria Frisk will produce for Radar. The project is being developed with the full cooperation of ELP and its management.
Karn Evil 9 will be executive produced by Radar's Ted Field, whose 30 years in the film industry have led to worldwide box office grosses topping $8 billion. He has produced over 60 films, including the Jumanji franchise, the Riddick franchise, The Last Samurai and Runaway Bride.
Speaking of the legendary rock song and the forthcoming film, Field said, "The visionary world that ELP created with their recording Karn Evil 9 is much closer to reality today. Our team at Radar looks forward to bringing this vision of where things may be headed to the big screen and beyond."
Inspired by the title and lyrics created and recorded by Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer, and co-lyricist
Peter Sinfield, the film takes us into a world controlled by a pervasive and dictatorial technocracy. The annual "Karn Evil" - a macabre rite of passage -- is a young person's once in a lifetime chance to experience unbridled freedom, before subjugating themselves to the ruling class. When people stop returning from their Karn Evil experience, fear drives a revolution to topple the status quo and the artificial intelligence discovered at its heart.
Writer
Daniel H. Wilson has a long history in science fiction, including New York and LA Times best-sellers Robopocalypse, and The Andromeda Evolution. Wilson has adapted a number of his works for the screen, including Robopocalypse for Dreamworks.
Wilson shared, "I'm incredibly excited to partner with Ted and Radar to explore Karn Evil 9—a unique and thrilling world. I couldn't ask for better collaborators than the Radar family."
Radar recently scored the box office smash of Jumanji: The Next Level, starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, and
Kevin Hart. Upcoming projects include the television adaptation of Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series "The Wheel of Time" with Amazon Studios and Sony
Pictures Television.
