The films rights to Steve Hamilton’s award-winning THE LOCK ARTIST have been acquired by Shane Salerno. THE LOCK ARTIST collected a number of awards, including the Edgar for Novel of the Year as well as CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.
Marked by tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else. Whether it’s a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an 800-pound safe… he can open them all.
It’s an unforgivable talent. A talent that will make young Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people and, whether he likes it or not, push him ever closer to a life of crime. Until he finally sees his chance to escape, and with one desperate gamble risks everything to come back home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.
Shane Salerno has been around for some time, but the last few years have seen his star rise quite a bit. He has worked on Hawaii Five-O and, with novelist Don Winslow, co-wrote the screenplay for Oliver Stone’s forthcoming SAVAGES. He is also the producer for the planned film of Winslow’s SATORI, the sequel to the acclaimed Shibumi, and is currently in post-production on the documentary SALINGER, his directorial debut. In addition, he is also a producer for the planned film that Winslow and fellow author Chuck Hogan are working on.
That he has not just adapted a crime novel, but done so with the author, bodes well for THE LOCK ARTIST. Not only did he work with Don, the process created an ongoing relationship between the two. Shane will definitely have an understanding for where the author is coming from and should be able to make the changes necessary to create a filmable screenplay while still keeping everything that makes TLA such a great tale.
