Jeff Bridges Taking Another Shot At Adapting YA Novel 'The Giver'

As a young bookworm, I was a huge fan of young adult author Lois Lowry; today, as a somewhat less young cinephile, I'm a big fan of actor Jeff Bridges. It therefore gives both my past and present selves great pleasure to report that Bridges and producer Nikki Silver have re-acquired the film rights to Lowry's dystopian YA classic The Giver. Vadim Perelman (The House of Sand and Fog) is attached to write the script, while Bridges will likely star as the Giver himself. Read more about the project after the jump.

The plot of the novel revolves around a young boy named Jonas who lives in a seemingly utopian society where things like war and poverty are not just unheard of, but have been altogether forgotten. Upon reaching the age of twelve, he is selected to inherit the role of the Giver, the member of the community who singlehandedly bears the burden of remembering the past. Through his training sessions with the current Giver, Jonas comes to realize what their society has truly given up by engineering a perfectly painless existence.

According to Variety, Bridges first became interested in the book when his daughter read it in high school. At first, his intention was to cast his father in the part of the wise old Giver. "I originally thought of the role of the Giver as a vehicle for my father, the late Lloyd Bridges," he said. "However, at 61 years old I feel the time is right for me to do it."

It's been years since I reread the book, but from what I recall of it, Bridges seems like pretty ideal casting for the role. If Bridges and Silver actually manage to get The Giver up and running this time around, you can count on me to be first in line when it opens.

Discuss: Have you read The Giver? Would you be interested in watching Bridges tackle this project? What other childhood favorites would you like to see adapted for the big screen?