Chris Columbus' Production Company Acquires Sci-Fi Novel (Exclusive)

Chris Columbus' 1492 Pictures has acquired film rights to How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, the debut novel from writer Charles Yu.

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Columbus and 1492 principals Michael Barnathan and Mark Radcliffe will produce and Brendan Bellomo is set to direct. 

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The novel centers on a time travel machine repairman -- also named Charles Yu  -- who has spent the past 10 years traveling back and forth in time in search of his father, who has disappeared. When the fictional Yu falls into a time loop he must find a way to change the future.

How to Live Safely, which was released in September 2010, was named one of Time's Top 10 Fiction Books of 2010 and was listed in the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2010, among other honors.

Bellomo is a New York University film school graduate who wrote, produced and directed a cast and crew of 200 students and professionals for the live action sci-fi short Bohemibot, which won a bronze medal in the narrative category at the 2009 Student Academy Awards. He is represented by WME and Prolific Management.

1492’s production credits include The Help, Night at the Museum, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and the first three Harry Potter films, among others. In addition to producing those films, Columbus' credits include directing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Home Alone, and writing The Goonies and Gremlins.

1492 and Columbus are represented by WME. Yu is represented by UTA and publishing agent Gary Heidt of Signature Literary Agency.

Email: Daniel.Miller@THR.com

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