Don Winslow's 'Savages' gets film and prequel

Mystery writer Don Winslow is getting an unexpected bonus out of Oliver Stone's adaptation of his book "Savages," about pot growers in Southern California getting in too deep.

First, the film begins shooting next month with the Oscar-winning director at the helm. With Stone comes a star-heavy cast, including John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Emile Hirsch, Salma Hayek, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson and Benicio Del Toro.

So what's the bonus? Winslow is now writing a prequel to "Savages," an idea that came out of working with Stone and screenplay co-author Shane Salerno, Deadline Hollywood reports. Not coincidentally, the new prequel will be published by Simon & Schuster around the time of the film's release in 2012.

"Savages," which juxtaposes high-end California living with the dangers of the drug trade, includes a powerful drug cartel, a beautiful girl's kidnapping and a dangerous criminal scheme. Our reviewer called it a "marvelous, adrenaline-juiced roller coaster of a novel" and it includes lines such as: "You can spend fifty thousand years practicing meditation or you can buy a gun." 

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photo: Don Winslow in 2008. Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times