Written by Cory Doctorow, the critically acclaimed book is set in the near-future, following ingenious teen hacker Marcus and his friends, who become caught in the wrong place at the wrong time in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in San Fransisco. When the Department of Homeland Security abducts and mercilessly interrogates them, Marcus and his technologically savy buddies set out to ignite a techno-revolution and to take down the DHS and their iron-fisted police state.
The rights to the Orwellian-themed novel were picked up by Angry Films in 2010, with Don Murphy now bringing the property to Paramount. Murphy will continue to produce via his shingle, with Gaby Canton developing for Paramount.
Sources cite that the studio is currently securing a writer to script, seeing the project tonally as a cross between the Bourne series, the Divergent series, and the acclaimed Channel 4 anthology TV series Black Mirror.
Released in April of 2008, the book debuted at number nine on The New York Times bestseller list, eventually spending another six weeks on the list and rising to number eight. The work also earned considerable praise from critics, citing it’s favorable parallels to 1984,The Giver, and real-life tension from post 9/11 policies.
The didactic techno-thriller received numerous substantial awards, including the 2009 White Pine Award, the 2009 John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the 2009 Prometheus Award, and the Sunburst Award in the YA category. Little Brother, which is an intended reference to “Big Brother,” was also a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel.
The breakout hit, which is available for free to download on Doctorow’s website, was followed up by a sequel, Homeland.