In a new twist, Graveyard now has been reconfigured as a live-action movie, and sources say Ron Howard is in negotiations to direct.

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Gil Netter, a veteran producer with adaptations including Marley & Me and Life of Pi among his credits, is producing with Ben Browning.

The book tells of a boy named Nobody Owens who is raised by ghosts in a cemetery after his family is murdered. When he is a teen, he is pursued again by his family’s killer, a being called “the Man Jack.” Graveyard won the Carnegie and Newbery medals for best children’s book -- the only time one work won both awards.

Howard’s boarding signals a new round of development for Graveyard. The director will oversee the writing of a new script, and Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment also might end up in a producer role.

Howard, repped by CAA and Bloom Hergott, is putting the finishing touches on Rush, a racing biopic that stars Chris Hemsworth and will be released Sept. 20 by Universal.

Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com; Tatiana.Siegel@thr.com

Twitter: @Borys_Kit; @TatianaSiegel27