The option to film a new version of the trilogy, translated to America, was bought up in 1994 by The Fields + Hellman Company (source: Publishers' Weekly, 24 October 1994). Jerry Hellman and the screenwriter Ed Neumeier (of Robocop and Starship Troopers fame) flew over to England to agree broad outlines of plot changes with Christopher in person. It fell through for lack of finance, and the option moved on. Variety for 9 March 1998 carried the story that sums in "high six figures" had been spent by producers Jane Hamsher and Don Murphy, at Touchstone Pictures, acquiring film rights to the trilogy. The story-line is said to be like that of Star Wars, and if that isn't an optimistic pitch to a Vice-President for Production, nothing is. Furthermore:
Hamsher and Murphy have tried to get the rights to the series for several years, but until recently the rights had been wrapped up in the U.K. or with U.S. producers.
Christopher reported in 1999 that a Touchstone script had apparently been written, though he hadn't seen it. He went on to say:
I'm aware of a basic problem with The Tripods-as-Movie in that producers tend automatically to regard it as futuristic SF. From that standpoint nothing is lost and vast box-office advantage is to be gained by transferring the setting to North America. I've no idea whether Touchstone are looking at it from this viewpoint -- Jerry Hellman, whose higher than usual sensitivity may be judged by his having produced Midnight Cowboy, had that notion, and actually took the trouble to come to Rye to convince me of its necessity. I wasn't convinced, but knew better than to argue. Having failed to raise the necessary cash he later told me he was going back to the original setting. It still didn't work -- American financiers are extremely reluctant to put up money for SF films based outside America.
...Unless it's done as basically historical rather than as routine SF, my feeling is it won't work.
It remains to be seen how definite a commitment is actually being made by Touchstone, and what format they plan: a film, a TV movie or series. Far more book options come to nothing than reach the screen, and this is about the sixth or seventh option taken out on the trilogy. But it's good to know that people are still paying sizeable sums to Mr Christopher, who likes to quote Hemingway's advice on this subject: just take the money.