Hatchery, Jane Startz option 'Angel' book series

Los Angeles-based production company the Hatchery and Gotham-based Jane Startz Prods. have teamed to option scribe L.A. Weatherly's book trilogy, "Angel." The series follows the complicated love affair of Willow, a half-angel and half-human character, and Alex, a CIA assassin assigned to hunt her down. "Angel Burn," the first book in the "Angel" series, was released domestically by Candlewick Press in May and landed a top ten spot on the American Assn. of Booksellers' Indie Next List. "Angel Fire," the second book in the series, will released in the U.K. this month, and is slated for a U.S. release in January 2012. The final book in the "Angel" trilogy is expected to be published in fall 2012. Startz, known for producing book-to-film adaptations such as "Ella Enchanted" and "The Baby-Sitters' Club," described "Angel" as "one of the most thrilling, romantic and imaginative books I have read in a very, very long time," while Hatchery partner Dan Angel dubbed the trilogy a "rare property that hits on all cylinders." Candlewick Press topper Karen Lotz added, "We simply cannot wait to see how (the book) translate for audiences in what promises to be a thrill ride feature film." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com