Wolfgang Petersen to Direct Strieber’s The Grays

Although I’m a big fan of science fiction, aliens and whatnot, I never really got into the whole “alien abduction” or UFO-themed movies. They just end up being very silly and not all that entertaining, so news that Whitley Strieber’s book “The Grays” has nabbed itself a director in “Troy’s” Wolfgang Petersen doesn’t get me really all that excited. And having read the premise of the novel, I’m still not sold that this will make a good movie. But hey, maybe I’m wrong. (It’s been known to happen, you know.) The news comes from Strieber’s official site (here) via ComingSoon.

Wolfgang Petersen has been picked by Sony Studios to direct the film of Whitley’s novel “The Grays” (now out in paperback everywhere). Petersen has directed such hit films as “In the Line of Fire” (with Clint Eastwood), “Outbreak” (with Dustin Hoffman), “The Perfect Storm,” and “Troy.” Filming should start in the next few months. The earliest possible release date is summer 2008, with the summer of 2009 more likely.

So what’s it about? Here’s the copy for the book:

A triumvirate of Grays, known as the Three Thieves, has occupied a small Kentucky town for decades–abducting its residents and manipulating fates and bloodlines in hopes of creating an ultra-intelligent human being. Nine-year-old Conner Callahan will face the ultimate terror as he struggles to understand who he has been bred to be and what he must do to save humanity.

Though the Grays have slowly begun to make themselves known, Colonel Michael Wilkes, the head of a select group of government and military officials that have been monitoring the aliens, will do anything in his power to keep them a secret. Wilkes will set in motion a sinister plan to ensure the survival of humanity, but at what cost?

The fate of the human race lies with one woman, Lauren Glass. Her uncanny ability to communicate with the aliens and her relationship with the last remaining captive gray may be the only way to save humankind.

Eh.