‘Wesley The Owl’ Book Getting Screen Adaptation By The Jim Henson Company

The Jim Henson Company has acquired the rights to Stacey O’Brien’s bestselling memoir 'Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl', with 'Dolphin Tale' co-writer Karen Janszen attached to pen the adaptation.

Wesley recounts the true story of young Caltech biologist Stacey O’Brien. In 1985, Stacey is asked by her mentor to raise Wesley, a baby barn owl with a wing injury that will prevent it from surviving in the wild. What’s intended to be an objective study of owl behavior blossoms into a unique, hilarious and incredible story of discovery, persistence and love spanning 19 years.

Described as part 'Marley & Me', part 'Fly Away Home', Wesley dives inside the one-of-a-kind relationship between “an owl and his girl” and redefines expectations of what it means to love, to survive and, ultimately, to become whole. When O’Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the biologist who saved the life of a helpless baby bird is herself rescued from death by the insistent love and courage of this wild animal.

Henson CEO & President Lisa Henson (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) is producing with Halle Stanford & Sarah Maizes for Henson Co. Andrew Trapani (Winchester) and Mark Hantoot will also produce. Larry Hummel and Tara Kurtz will co-produce the feature/TV project, which is out to filmmakers and cast.