Monarch Media Taps Kali Bailey to Adapt L. Frank Baum's 'The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus' for the Big Screen

Monarch Media has set Kali Bailey to write the screenplay for a live-action feature adaptation of "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus," based on L. Frank Baum's 1902 children's novel, according to Deadline.

Bailey is a familiar hand at Monarch. She co-wrote the company's coming-of-age film "A Week Away," which went on to spawn an Angel Network series of the same name, and she co-directed multiple episodes of that spinoff. She also wrote and directed the Angel Network sci-fi film "The Lightning Code." Her reps are First Story Entertainment and attorney Joshua Lastine of Lastine Entertainment Law.

Monarch Media principals Steve Barnett, Alan Powell and Vicky Patel will produce the new film. The project draws on a Baum book that is far less widely known than his "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" but has its own devoted following: it traces the origin story of Santa Claus from his abandonment as an infant in the Forest of Burzee through his adoption by a wood-nymph, his discovery of humanity's suffering, and his eventual decision to dedicate his life to bringing joy to children.

Baum published the book in 1902, two years after "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," and it has been adapted before — most notably as a 1985 stop-motion television special produced by Rankin/Bass. A live-action feature treatment is new territory for the material.

Monarch Media's slate gives a sense of the company's range. The outfit produced Richard Linklater's "Hit Man," starring Glen Powell, and the animated feature "Tangles," which stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston and Seth Rogen and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Its comedy "Babies," directed by Lauren Miller Rogen and starring Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, David Strathairn, Sharon Stone, Ed Helms and Issa Rae, is set to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this autumn with a theatrical release to follow. Monarch is also producing an untitled Nick Jonas holiday romantic comedy for Netflix, with Ari Sandel attached to direct, and is currently prepping a remake of the coming-of-age drama "A Walk to Remember."

The common thread across that slate is Monarch's focus on commercially minded films with recognisable talent attached, often positioned in the festival-to-theatrical pipeline. A Santa Claus origin story fits that mould: a public-domain property with built-in seasonal appeal and family-friendly branding.

No director, cast, release date or production start has been announced for "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus." The film is in the development stage, meaning the screenplay is being written before the project moves toward financing and production decisions.