Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Cat’s Cradle’ in development for television

Kurt Vonnegut’s 1963 classic “Cat’s Cradle” is being adapted for television screens by IM Global Television.

“‘Cat’s Cradle’ is a true classic, not just in the science fiction genre, but in literature overall. We couldn’t be more honored or excited to adapt this seminal work for television,” company co-founder Mark Stern told The Wrap.

Stern previously spent 11 years at Syfy, where the series produced under his tenure included “Battlestar Galactica.”

In “Cat’s Cradle,” a writer tracks down the three children of Felix Hoenikker, fictional father of the atomic bomb, and discovers they’ve all taken his next invention, Ice-9, as their inheritance. Ice-9 freezes at room temperature and threatens to be the end of the world as we know it.

Vonnegut told the story “with extravagant irreverence,” a Los Angeles Times reviewer wrote in 1963, with “a nihilistic good humor and the awareness that laughter is a more potent weapon of offense than vituperation.”

Vonnegut’s work adapted for the screen has produced mixed results. “Slaughterhouse-Five,” directed by George Roy Hill and released in 1972, was widely praised, winning the Jury Prize at Cannes plus a Hugo Award and a Saturn Award. However, 1999’s “Breakfast of Champions,” which starred Bruce Willis and Albert Finney is often characterized as a “misfire,” earning just a 26% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Yet interest in Vonnegut remains high. In March, a four-week campaign to complete the documentary “Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time” successfully concluded on Kickstarter, raising more than $300,000 from 3,755 backers -- affectionately called “Vonne-nuts.”

Book news and more; I’m @paperhaus on Twitter