Laurence Fishburne Is Bringing Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” To The Big Screen

Laurence Fishburne reports that he is finally moving forward with his The Alchemist project, which is based on Paulo Coelho’s best-selling novel by the same name.

The magical novel The Alchemist tells the story of Santiago, a shepherd boy who wished to travel from his home in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a worldly treasure. The treasures, and the people he met along his quest, taught spiritual lessons such as how to listen to our hearts, read the bad omens that are inevitable among each life’s path, and ultimately, how to follow our dreams. The novel has sold more than two million copies worldwide, and is considered to be a modern classic by many.

Fishburne tells The Hollywood Reporter that the adaptation will come together “sooner rather than later,” and that he has been yearning to develop the 1988 book into a film for 16 years. Speaking with filmmaker Martin Scorsese at the Marrakech Film Festival offered him a new perspective, as it took Scorsese 30 years to get the 2016 film Silence adapted to the big screen. “Twenty years isn’t that long to wait,” he said.

The spiritual message of the novel is timeless, said Fishburne, adding that the cultural exchange between religions is highly relevant in today’s era. “It speaks to everybody all over the world, and I think that’s the thing for me that makes me so passionate about bringing it to the screen,” he said.

No other information has been provided at this time, but we are eager to see this important project materialize.  Hollywood is becoming more culturally diverse, and this is a wonderful time to witness the shift that is occurring. “There is no way there can’t be more,” Fishburne said, referring to Hollywood’s positive changes in diversity and inclusiveness. “Things are getting better, and people are not just trying, people are succeeding.”