Korea's Prime Entertainment is poised to sign with Japanese novelist group Osawa Office to adapt an Arimasa Osawa novel for the screen, potentially leading to a partnership between the two companies for adaptation, production, and distribution.

Head of production at Prime Entertainment, Lee Seung-jae tells Screen International: "With success, the deal will be the first in a series of projects between Prime and Osawa.

The Osawa Office has bestselling novels, many of which have already been adapted to film, and they have recognized That Korea has excellent creative initiative for filmmaking."

Lee says Prime Entertainment would adapt Osawa Office's novels, possibly with Osawa providing partial financing from Japan. Prime would produce and distribute the films with Japanese territory rights going to the Osawa Office.

Novelist group Osawa Office is the base for genre writers Arimasa Osawa, Natsuhiko Kyogoku and Miyuki Miyabe. Largely identified with dealing with hard-boiled detective stories Osawa has had a long list of films that proved suitable for film adaptation.

High-profile titles include Kadokawa Picture's Kwaidan: Eternal Love which screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival, Toho's Copycat Killer, and the upcoming Brave Story which has Fuji TV, Gonzo and Warner Brothers Pictures Japan.