Ben Stiller And Curtis Cornfeld Go Bird Watching

[Thursday, June 20th, 2002]
On the basis of a 42-page partial manuscript, DreamWorks bought screen rights to "The Big Year," a nonfiction book that Mark Obmascik is writing, reports Variety.

The deal comes with the producing attachments of Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, Curtis Hanson and Carol Fenelon.

The book focuses on three guys pursuing bird-watching supremacy in 1998, which was the best year in recent memory because El Nino had brought so many species into North America and because the public was temporarily allowed to visit the island of Attu off the coast of Alaska, which, as any aficionado knows, is the Mecca for bird spotting. The trio battled to spot and record the highest number of species in North America. They played tricks on one another and two teamed up against the third in a survivor-like quest.

Neither Stiller nor Hanson are committed to doing anything other than producing until they see a script, but there is potential for a comedy to take wing.

More On 'The Big Year'...

E-Mail This Article » Share your comments on 'The Big Year'