Vincenzo Natali of Splice will direct the film adaptation of William Gibson’s cyberpunk classic, Neuromancer. Natali has been rumored to head the project for weeks, but Seven Arts Pictures made the deal official today. The Canadian production will be financed by Prodigy Pictures and Telefilm Canada, with Prodigy’s Jay Firestone producing.
As one of science-fiction’s most acclaimed and influential works, Neuromancer has been subjected to several film treatments, none of which have been made. The book tells the story of Case, a cyberspace hacker in a dystopian future Japan, and is generally given credit for pioneering the idea of cyberpunk.
The project seems to be a good fit for Natali, who is known for mind-bending sci-fi films like the Kafka-esque Cube. Seven Arts’ CEO Peter Hoffman backed the choice of director, saying “After seeing [Natali’s] work, especially his cutting edge use of effects with Splice, we feel that he has both the story telling ability and the command of the visual medium to give this film the treatment it deserves.
While touching one of science fiction’s sacred cows seems like asking for trouble (and nerd rage), the choice of director seems to be getting the project off on the right foot, if that’s not mixing too many metaphors.
