All the "material" she speaks of is to be found in the books, which chronicle the most powerful family in the world, the Cahills (of which Napoleon and Houdini were members). The series challenges young readers to discover the source of the family's powers as revealed through thirty-nine clues that are hidden around the globe and scattered throughout history. The jaded adult in me can only venture a guess as to the source of the family's power: Money. Lots and lots of money. You read it here first.

For his part, Spielberg has released a statement explaining that the series takes "creative leaps to expand the story experience from the pages of the books to multiple stages of discovery and imagination." That said, a book series, movies, online games and collectible cards all sound great, but Harry Potter already kind of has 39 Clues by the balls. The HP franchise boasts all of those things plus jelly beans in infinite flavors -- these books don't even have 40 clues. Then again, perhaps all that crap is what it takes to get kids to read these days, in which case, I'm all for it. I just wonder if that 10 grand prize has any age restrictions.