FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Patrick Ness A Monster Calls Screen Adaptation to be Directed by Acclaimed Filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona
River Road Entertainment, Participant Media, Lionsgate International, and Focus Features have teamed to finance and distribute Apaches production of acclaimed filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayonas next film, A Monster Calls, based on the award-winning novel by Patrick Ness (the Chaos Walking trilogy) published by Candlewick Press in the U.S. Bayona won Spains equivalent of the Academy Award, The Goya, for his last film, The Impossible, which was distributed by Lionsgates Summit label and grossed more than $160 million at the worldwide box office. The Impossible is the highestgrossing film of all time in Spain. The film will be produced by Belen Atienza (The Impossible, Pans Labyrinth, The Orphanage) and is slated for an autumn 2016 release. A Monster Calls is a visually spectacular drama about a young boy who attempts to deal with his mothers illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales that deal with courage, loss and faith. Ness wrote the novel based on an original idea by the late Siobhan Dowd, and he and illustrator Jim Kay won Britains prestigious Carnegie Medal and Greenaway Medal in 2012, presented to the years best childrens literature in the UK. Ness is adapting the screenplay from his novel. Director Juan Antonio Bayona has said of the deal; It is an incredible privilege to bring Patrick Ness exceptional book to the screen and I couldn't have imagined better partners joining me in this endeavor. After The Orphanage' and The Impossible, A Monster Calls' is the perfect final chapter in a trilogy centered on the extraordinary strength of the mother-child bond. Patrick Ness is represented by Michelle Kass of Michelle Kass Associates, and attorney Howard Abramson of Behr Abramson in Los Angeles.

NOTES TO EDITORS ABOUT PATRICK NESS Bestselling and award-winning novelist Patrick Ness was born in Virginia, USA, and spent his upbringing in the states of Hawaii, Washington and California. He has lived in London since 1999. He is the author of a novel and short story collection for adults, but is best known for the Chaos Walking trilogy: The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men. The trilogy has won the Guardian Childrens Fiction Prize, the Costa Childrens Book of the Year Prize, and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. In 2011 Monsters of Men won the prestigious CILIP Carnegie Medal after all three books in the trilogy were shortlisted, the first time that has ever happened. Patricks sixth book A Monster Calls received high critical acclaim and is the winner of the Childrens Book of the Year Award at the Galaxy National Book Awards, the Red House Childrens Book Award and the UKLA Childrens Book Prize. In June 2012, A Monster Calls became the first book ever to win both prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals. In 2013 Patrick released two novels to critical acclaim; More Than This for young adults and The Crane Wife for adult readers.

ABOUT CANDLEWICK PRESS Candlewick Press is an independent, employee-owned publisher based in Somerville, Massachusetts. For over twenty years, Candlewick has published outstanding childrens books for readers of all ages, including books by awardwinning authors and illustrators such as the National Ambassador for Children's Literature, Kate DiCamillo, M. T. Anderson, Patrick Ness, Jon Klassen, and Laura Amy Schlitz; the widely acclaimed Judy Moody, Mercy Watson, and Ology series; and favorites such as Guess How Much I Love You, Wheres Waldo?, and Maisy. Candlewick is part of the Walker Books Group, together with Walker Books UK in London and Walker Books Australia, based in Sydney and Auckland. Visit Candlewick online at www.candlewick.com. ABOUT PARTICIPANT MEDIA Participant (ParticipantMedia.com) is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature film, television, publishing and digital content that inspires social change. Participant's more than 45 films include GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, SYRIANA, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, FOOD, INC., WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, THE HELP, CONTAGION and LINCOLN. Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network TakePart.com and Pivot, its new television network for Millennials, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action. ABOUT LIONSGATE Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently has 34 television shows on 22 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such criticallyacclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the comedy Anger Management, the network seriesNashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show and the critically-acclaimed series Orange is the New Black. www.lionsgate.com ABOUT FOCUS FEATURES Focus Features (www.focusfeatures.com) makes, acquires, and releases movies from rising and established talent and filmmakers. The company is moving forward with a diverse slate of 9-11 films a year, with most being wide releases appealing to a range of moviegoers. Staying true to the company's roots, the slate will also include several specialty films each year. Internationally, Focus Features has consistently produced and distributed award-winning motion pictures worldwide, guiding them to box office success. Focus Features is part of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, world-renowned theme parks, and a suite of leading Internet-based businesses. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. ABOUT RIVER ROAD ENTERTAINMENT River Road Entertainment is one of the leading independent production companies known for developing, producing and financing distinguished feature films and documentaries that astonish, inspire, reveal and provoke. River Road most recently produced and financed the Academy Award winning Best Picture 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano, LupitaNyongo and Brad Pitt. The film, released by Fox Searchlight, also won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Drama, two BAFTA Awards including Best Film, five Film Independent Spirit Awards including Best Feature and earned a total of three Academy Awards. Currently, the company is in post-production on Love & Mercy, a film centered on Brian Wilson, the mercurial singer, songwriter and leader of The Beach Boys. River Road founder and CEO Bill Pohlad returns to directing with Love & Mercy, which stars John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti.