Sydney Gallonde, the Paris-based producer of “No Second Chance,” Harlan Coben’s first series adaptation which traveled to more than 50 countries and drew high ratings, is ready to take his company Make it Happens Studios to the next level.
Gallonde is currently developing an adaptation of the epic novel “The Twelve Children of Paris” with its author Tim Willocks, as well as untitled projects with Guillaume Musso and Jeff Linsday.
“The Twelve Children of Paris” is Willocks’s latest book following his bestselling trilogy “The Religion,” “Bad City Blues” and “Green River Rising” which have been translated into more than 20 languages.
The British author, who previously collaborated with Steven Spielberg on “The Unfinished Journey,” has written a bible for a historical thriller mini-series based on “The Twelve Children of Paris.”
The story takes place during the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572 in Paris and follows Mattias Tannhauser, the protagonist of “The Religion,” as he embarks on a race against the clock to find his pregnant wife who got mysteriously embroiled in a turmoil of conspiracies and went missing after attending a royal wedding.
Gallonde, who participated in a round-table during the In Development seminar co-organized by MipTV and Canneseries on Wednesday, will present the bible of “The Twelve Children of Paris,” to broadcasters during the next C21 conference in the U.K.
Speaking of expanding his scope into the English-speaking world, Gallonde has recently signed a development deal with Jeff Lindsay, the famous American playwright and crime novelist who is best known for writing the cult “Dexter” book collection that served as a basis for the cult Showtime series.
Gallonde and Lindsay are working together on an international period series which will be based in Paris. Lindsay has partnered up with two co-writers, Kurt McClung and Patrick Renault, to come up with several bibles.
Gallonde has also partnered up with Guillaume Musso, one of France’s most popular author, on the adaptation of his upcoming novel “L’appel de l’ange” into a six-part French-language series. The producer said he was looking to build an internationally-driven franchise based on the book property.
On top of developing several projects with Coben, Gallonde has two more series at a more advanced stage: “Last Light” which Make it Happens Studios is producing with Brain Academy and Trust Nordisk; and “La Faute,” a French series adaptation of British author Paula Daly’s novel.
“La Faute,” which will air in France on the commercial network M6, is a mini-series directed by Nils Tavernier about a woman searching for the daughter of her best friend who disappeared the day she forgot to pick her up from school.
“Last Light” is an 8-part series adapted from Alex Scarrow’s bestselling novel. Set to take place between Paris and London, the character-driven drama will center around a family whose lives are changed forever by an implosion of modern society when oil supplies suddenly drop to crisis point.
Via Variety
The Book to Screen Club 