Based on a novel by Nebula/Hugo Award winner David Gerrold, The Martian Child is a semi-autobiographical tale about a man who decides he wants to be a father. This man, named directly after the author, begins adoption proceedings through the nightmarish bureaucracy in California. He comes across a photograph of an eight-year-old named Dennis, and somehow knows this is the child he wants.
Dennis is a thin, blond boy who was abandoned by his alcoholic mother when he was a baby, and then was shuffled from one foster home to another.. He's what the adoption agencies would consider "a problem child." Dennis has deficit hyperactivity disorder and takes Ritalin to keep his violent emotional outbursts under control. He's prescribed Disipramine for antisocial behavior. The adoption experts basically classified him as impossible to place. David Gerrold won't accept such an answer, as he knows deep in his heart that he needs Dennis as much as Dennis needs him.
Soon after taking custody of the child, the perils of being a single gay father really come to the forefront. Dennis certainly has various behavioral problems, but perhaps the most perplexing issue about the boy is that he thinks he is a Martian.
John Cusack is set to star in the film, which will change the story somewhat. Cusack's character will be a man who has tragically lost his fiancée, and in an effort to create a family, he adopts a boy who believes he is a Martian. Since the project was first announced, a new director has taken over. When Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook) dropped out, Menno Meyjes took over and will direct from a screenplay by Jonathan Tolins and Seth Bass. Meyjes never hesitates to address the controversial, so it will be fascinating to watch if he will stay truer to the tale than initial plans revealed. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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