Eli Roth and Jack Black Developing Amblin's THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS

Amblin Entertainment has hired director Eli Roth to develop the big screen adaption of John Bellairs 1973 book series The House With A Clock In Its Walls. They've also brought Jack Black on board to star in the film. 

There are 12 books in the series and Eric Kripke (Supernatural) will write the script for the first film. This is a very different kind of film for Roth to take on, as he's mostly known for his torture horror films that lack story. This film will tell the story of a recently orphaned 10-year-old boy who discovers a world of hidden passageways, magic and danger in his uncle’s old house. Here's a full description of the story:

Lewis had always wanted to live in a house like Uncle Jonathan’s — full of marble fireplaces and secret passageways and dozens of unused, unexplored rooms. And living with Uncle Jonathan, a real wizard, was full of fun and surprises.

But while Uncle Jonathan practiced funny and comfortable white magic, the original owner of the old house, Isaac Izard, had been an evil sorcerer. Isaac Izard had devised a plan for bringing about the end of the world. Somewhere in the walls of the house he had hidden a clock. Every night Lewis and Uncle Jonathan could hear it ticking — sometimes loud, sometimes soft — marking off the minutes until doomsday.

Lewis knew they had to find the clock before it was too late. Then he decided to dabble in a litte magic of his own, and their time almost ran out.

I love these kinds of supernatural fantasy stories. I've never really been a big fan of Roth's previous film work, but this actually sounds like a fun story that he won't be able to screw up.