Goonies, the movie, made me feel like I could find buried treasure, you know? And those messages literally stuck with me. Willy Wonka makes you feel like you can find the golden ticket. That’s what happened for me because everything that I do - the odds were stacked against me becoming an actor or a writer - but somewhere early on, I got these messages that anything is possible. So I wanted to write a book for that age group that planted this little seed of an idea that there’s still magic out there.

If you think of the opening of Up! It’s pretty intense and they’re treating kids like they’re capable. That’s one of the things that I think Pixar is really good at. I think is a really interesting age because you’re still really open to receiving lessons and feel like the people who are talking to you aren’t condescending you. If the books prove successful, I wouldn’t be surprised if they get adapted into movies, bringing this full thing full circle.RT: Why did you decide to write a middle-grade book trilogy? When Segel bought back the script, he began adapting it into novels and sparked a bidding war between publishing houses. It’s a kids adventure movie in the style of Goonies or Labyrinth. I came to them because the contract was up and I went to buy it up and they were like, ‘No, wait, that was you? That was your script?’ And I was like, ‘Yep, sorry dudes.’ So I now own it and I want to make it. Segel says he originally wrote the story as a screenplay, which he sold to a studio “for super cheap” when he was 21 because he “didn’t know any better.” Here’s Segel telling the story a couple years ago: It sat on a shelf and they didn’t know that it was the same Jason Segel. These are the types of stories that always inspired me.” The first book, co-written by Segel and Kirsten Miller ( The Eternal Ones), is set for a fall 2014 release via Random House. Entitled Nightmares!, the series is “an adventure story about a group of kids who realize it’s up to them to save their town from fear, which has manifested itself in the form of nightmare creatures that have slipped into the everyday world.” Segel, who has previously written movies like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Muppets, said in a statement, “Ultimately, it’s a story about learning that we can accomplish anything, as long as we are brave enough to try. Jason Segel revealed earlier this month that he has a series of young adult novels on the way, and now, we’ve learned the books’ titles and what they’re about.

Jason segel book nightmares