Now Entering the City of Ember (Part 1)

With a string of successful adaptations under their belt, especially the "Narnia" series, Walden Media has been at the forefront of the current fantasy revival. And when they left Disney to join the Murdoch family as the freshly-minted FoxWalden, they needed some new titles to bring to the big screen. Luckily for them, Tom Hanks and Play•Tone had just picked up the rights to one of the latest, and more idiosyncratic claimants to Harry Potter's throne. (link)