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Audio Cinema Entertainment has obtained the rights to produce a full-cast audio version of the first three books of Hugo Award-winning author C.J. Cherryh’s science fiction series, Foreigner Universe. And they have chosen Seattle.
Adapting the first book, Foreigner, will be local author and audio drama maven Sable Jak, a long-time fan of Ms. Cherryh’s. As readers of the Seattle Star know, Ms. Jak herself has won a few awards in the audio drama field. She will write and also direct the estimated six-hour production,
While Foreigner has already seen a rather prosaic audiobook version available from Audible.com, the new adaptation promises to be a true “Movie in Audio.” The production will be complete with a full cast of actors, an original score and a state of the art cinematic soundscape with veteran sound designer Tim Knofler at the helm.
“I read a lot of books, and I purge books from my shelf regularly. But there are some that just never get purged. C.J.’s are on that list,” says Ms. Jak.
Ms. Cherryh, a Spokane resident herself with deep roots in Seattle, has hand-picked and approved the principal actors in the cast, all of them local. The leading role and only human in the story, Bren Cameron, will be played horror artist and actor Wednesday Wolf. Helen Hayes award-winning actress Gin Hammond will bring the role of the Assassin’s Guild bodyguard Jago to life while renowned actress/singer Jane Cater will provide the pivotal role of Ilisidi. Two other principals remain to be cast, but Ms. Jak assures me that all of them will come from the local area.
The projected budget for the production is fairly stunning for an audio drama: something in excess of $250,000. Ms. Cherryh is also relying heavily upon her legions of fans to help produce the work through crowdfunding via Kickstarter.
The target date for production is early 2013. Updates will be posted on the CJ Cherryh Movie in Audio blog on Tumblr at cjcherryhmovieinaudio.tumblr.com and through Audio Cinema Entertainment at audiocei.com.
