'Willa' to become television production

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Robert Beatty’s fantasy Willa of the Wood will be adapted for television.

Deadline Hollywood said Friday that a company headed by Amy Adams, leading lady of the  2007 musical Enchanted, will produce Willa with EOne, a recent Hasbro - yes, the toymaker - acquisition known for the popular preschool television show Peppa Pig.

Mountain residents - at least those with kids who love to read - are familiar with Beatty’s characters, Willa, who lives in the forest, and his best-selling Serafina, a series featuring a girl who lives secretly in the basement of the Biltmore House.

Last February at the Rose Glenn Literary Festival in Sevierville, Beatty, the luncheon speaker, suggested during a Q&A session that there were plans for filmed products for both Serafina and Willa, but his communications team asked that it not be reported due to negotiations.

Beatty’s daughters have been frequently involved in his books, and an audience member at the literary festival asked if the productions would feature his daughters. He said no, that Disney would be in charge of casting.

The Deadline Hollywood exclusive said nothing about the show going to Disney, but it is a natural fit given that his books are published by Disney Hyperion, a division of Disney Books and Disney Publishing Worldwide.

However, Adams’ Bond Group has a “first-look deal” with HBO, so it sounds like HBO might have interest.

At the Sevierville luncheon, Beatty said it would be a 10-hour long production, but it isn’t certain if he was talking about Willa or Serafina.

There is no word yet if the program could be filmed in the region.