Acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman has seen a number of his literary works successfully adapted for the film medium, including titles like Stardust and Coraline in recent years. Now his multiple award-winning and best-selling literary fantasy, American Gods, has officially taken its first steps towards making the jump to the big screen.

Gaiman has revealed that the rights to American Gods were sold just last week - and that an Oscar-winning filmmaker who's been looking to adapt the book for years now is already onboard.

Digital Spy recently sat down with the author, who revealed the following bit about an American Gods adaptation:

"There is one cinematographer and director on board who has many, many Oscars and is I think is a genius, and I love the fact that he fell in love with this about six or seven years ago and has not given up and just kept coming back and kept coming back."

Here is an official description of the novel "American Gods":

Shadow gets out of prison early when his wife is killed in a car crash. At a loss, he takes up with a mysterious character called Wednesday, who is much more than he appears. In fact, Wednesday is an old god, once known as Odin the All-father, who is roaming America rounding up his forgotten fellows in preparation for an epic battle against the upstart deities of the Internet, credit cards, television, and all that is wired. Shadow agrees to help Wednesday in a battle for the very soul of America.

American Gods movie Neil Gaiman

American Gods is just one of several Gaiman-related cinematic projects currently in development. The author is reportedly working (in some form) with DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns on turning his beloved Sandman graphic novel series into a TV show. It was also recently announced that Gaiman is scripting a $300 million Journey to the West adaptation, and Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) is attached to turn Gaiman's Newbery Medal-winning The Graveyard Book into a feature-length production as well.

While I confess myself to personally be a fan of Gaiman's breed of storytelling, not everything he does turns out great (case in point - the American Gods companion novel, Anasi Boys, is a bit weak by Gaiman's standards). However, the literal use of a diverse collection of mythological elements and figures - within the context of an allegorical story that examines the changing cultural landscape of the United States - makes American Gods one of those fascinating reads that's difficult to put down.

Whether an American Gods movie can be equally engaging is not a sure thing, though the involvement of a multiple Oscar-winning auteur (whomever it may be) certainly bodes well for the project.

Source: Digital Spy