Perry Moore, executive producer of the Chronicles Of Narnia films and author of the teen superhero novel Hero, was found dead yesterday of an apparent OxyContin overdose. He was 39.
Moore was crucial to Narnia making its way to the big screen, having spent many years pursuing the rights and writing passionate letters to the C.S. Lewis Company; Narnia has now become one of the most successful movie series of all time, grossing over $1.5 billion so far. Moore’s love of children’s and young-adult literature extended to creating his own: His award-winning 2007 novel Hero dealt with the world’s first gay teen superhero, and there have been various plans to adapt it for film or television since its publication. The most recent incarnation, a series that Moore was developing with Stan Lee, was passed on by Showtime in April, although at the time Moore expressed confidence that it would see the light of day somewhere.
He was also writing a Hero sequel as well as working on a new novel, Way Of The Wolf, Book One: Fire—about a group of superpowered triplets—at the time of his death. Moore’s other film credits include the 2008 Sissy Spacek drama Lake City, which he co-wrote and co-directed with his life-partner Hunter Hill, and a 2010 documentary about Where The Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak, which he co-directed with Spike Jonze. Early last year, Moore was making plans to co-direct another film with Hill starring Julianne Moore.