David Morrell Novel ‘The Protector’ On Duty For Harris Films
EXCLUSIVE: Producer David Harris has acquired rights to The Protector, the 2003 thriller novel from David Morrell. Morrell is the New York Times bestselling author who penned First Blood, the book that launched Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo movie franchise.
The deal marks the first major IP deal for Harris Films, which Harris launched in 2017. He is the son of producer/film preservationist Robert A. Harris, and worked at Paramount and Platinum Studios before producing the 2017 Millennium Films action thriller Security starring Antonio Banderas and Ben Kingsley.
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The Protector is set in the high-tech world of international protective agents. The main character, Cavanaugh, doesn’t use a first name, and “Cavanaugh” isn’t his actual last name. He’s a protector — if you refer to him as a bodyguard, which he regards as a synonym for a thug, you won’t like his reaction. His hatred of bullies compelled him to enlist in Special Forces, and now as a civilian he works for Global Protective Services, the world’s finest security firm. Along with his wife, Jamie, he keeps predators from their prey.
Two other novels in the series also feature Cavanaugh. The plot of the first revolves around he and Jamie protecting a scientist whose terrifying discovery has the power to alter the future of combat. When the scientist vanishes, Cavanaugh discovers the man he swore to protect is his most dangerous enemy.
“This is novel is special to me,” says Morrell, who also wrote the Brotherhood of the Rose, the spy novel adapted by NBC into a two-part miniseries in 1989. “Real-life versions of Cavanaugh allowed me into their dangerous world. Now Harris Films has an exciting vision for bringing that world to the screen.”
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