Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with some interesting news for you sci-fi fans out there. Mary Doria Russell's novel, THE SPARROW, has been picked up by Warner Bros for Brad Pitt's Production Company, Plan B. Pitt has reportedly been eyeballing this book for a long time as a vehicle for himself. Michael Seitzman (NORTH COUNTRY) is adapting the book.

I've heard this novel talked about, but I have yet to get around to it. Here's the really interesting sounding description, lifted from Amazon:

In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet which will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question the meaning of being "human." When the lone survivor of the expedition, Emilio Sandoz, returns to Earth in 2059, he will try to explain what went wrong... Words like "provocative" and "compelling" will come to mind as you read this shocking novel about first contact with a race that creates music akin to both poetry and prayer.

Any fans of the book have an opinion of its adaptation and of Pitt in the lead? I'm very optimistic just from reading that synopsis. Could be something special. What do you think?