May 28th, 2009 5:43 pm

‘The Slap’ moves from page to screen

Matchbox Pictures eye Christos Tsiolkas’ acclaimed novel “The Slap” for a television adaptation.

Matchbox Pictures have announced that after a competitive bidding process they have purchased the rights to Christos Tsiolkas’ acclaimed novel “The Slap”, in order to produce a television adaptation of the Melbourne-based novel.

Matchbox’s Tony Ayres, said he hopes the series will be able to unfold over eight episodes, just as the novel was told through eight chapters from the perspective of a different character.”We’d like to honour that in terms of our realisation,” Ayres said.

“The Slap is about intimate human relationships and television is such a fantastic medium for that.”

“People are talking about television in the way they used to talk about movies and books, it’s what seems to be the cultural capital of our age,” he said.

Tsiolkas is also excited about the prospects of his novel turning into a television series.

“I am very excited to be working with Matchbox. From personal experience, I trust their vision and their integrity as creators of film and television and believe they will create something exhilarating, passionate and provocative with the material in the novel,” said Tsiolkas.

Matchbox are now in talks with local television networks about investing in the series.

‘The Slap’ will be produced by Ayres, Helen Bowden and Michael McMahon. Penny Chapman will serve as executive producer.

Script development on the series will likely begin soon, with production starting early next year. The series will be shot in and around Northcote and Fitzroy, where the novel is set.

The series could go to air as early as the second half of next year.

Sources: Sydney Morning Herald and TV Tonight