George R.R. Martin could be up to more than just writing 'The Winds of Winter' this fall. The author of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' book series has just announced on his LiveJournal that his beloved werewolf novella 'The Skin Trade' could be turned into a TV show.
"I am very excited to announce the Cinemax [HBO's sister company] has optioned the television rights to 'The Skin Trade,' the offbeat 'werewolf noir' novella I penned back in the late 80s. The deal is closed, and Cinemax has ordered the pilot script," Martin wrote, adding that he is still unsure whether the pilot will be turned into a show.
"This being Hollywood, of course, you never know where things will end... but if they like the script, we'll shoot a pilot, and if they like that, hey, who knows, maybe we'll get a series on the air," he wrote.
In his post, the 'Winds of Winter' author also admitted that he had always been hoping that 'The Skin Trade' would be made into a show.
"I have always thought there was a TV series (or maybe a feature film) in Willie Flambeaux and Randi Wade. Those of you who know the story of DOORWAYS, my ill-fated ABC pilot from the early 90s, may even recall that it was SKIN TRADE that I was actually trying to sell back in 1991, when I flew out to LA for a round of pitch meetings. So we're a few decades late..." Martin wrote.
'The Skin Trade' was written for publication in the annual horror anthology 'Night Visions.' The novella was featured in 'Night Visions 5,' which also had three short stories each from Stephen King and Dan Simmons. The combination of crime fiction and werewolf mythology was a big hit, and 'The Skin Trade' went on to win the 1989 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella.
The script for 'The Skin Trade' will be written by 'Once Upon a Time' writer Kalinda Vazquez.
