This year’s Oscars were as much a celebration of books as they were of cinema. Five of the top ten film nominees were based on books, and three of them – “Oppenheimer,” “Poor Things” and “The Zone of Curiosity” – took home the most statues in total. Even the best animated picture winner, Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Crane,” was loosely inspired by a 1937 novel Miyazaki learned as a baby.
That’s why many of those who partied in Los Angeles on Sunday night boarded planes across the Atlantic days later, bound for the London Guide Honest, which began yesterday and runs through the end of the week, in search of their next Oscar-contending project. . . “It seems like there’s an influx of film and TV executives, studio executives, producers and so on, all coming to town,” said Jason Richman, co-director of media rights at UTA. Selection.
With TV also crazy about diversification – some of the biggest shows in recent months have included “Shōgun”, “One Day”, “Idiot Me Once” and “Sluggish Horses”, all of which began as romances – the Honest London Guide is quick in its approach to becoming the new go-to market for the display industry. LBF director Gareth Rapley won’t be surprised. “A book is like a heartbeat for content creation,” he says.
Guide to screen diversification is not a new idea, of course (pun intended). But despite the commercial contraction – and even because of it – commissioners and producers increasingly rely on pre-existing content, including podcasts, articles and even TikToks, to promote a project. “Having a piece of intellectual property will boost the conversation,” acknowledges Helen Gregory, creative director at UK production company See-Noticed Movies, which produces “Sluggish Horses” as well as “Heartstopper” (an adaptation of Alice Osman’s graphic novel ) and the upcoming adaptation of CJ Skuse’s novel “Sweetpea.”
Richard Price, executive producer at Quay Avenue Productions, which recently produced Netflix’s hit adaptation of Harlan Coben’s novel “Idiot Me Once,” agrees that IP is more useful than ever. “Everyone is trying to make their mission stand out in a very crowded market,” he says.
Not only are books a proof of concept, but in the case of bestsellers, they come with a built-in viewer. Plus, they provide the assurance that the fabric is worth investing in because someone else – the author – has already shelled out. “This is validation for these companies,” says Richman.
These days, producers are moving earlier and earlier to signal options offerings – often before the book is even completed. Richman sold Margot Lee Shetterly’s “Hidden Figures” based on the pitch (the film was finished before she even finished the book) and is currently fielding “several offers” on a nonfiction book pitch from another creator.
“We typically select books a year before publication,” says Camilla Young, head of media rights at Curtis Brown.
With “award-winning” intellectual property, as Gregory says, one approach to gain an advantage is in the major e-book markets. In addition to London, there’s the children’s book Bologna launching in Italy next month – a magnet for book hunters from Disney and other animation companies – and the historic Frankfurt market in Germany, which is considered the most popular worldwide , every autumn.
With no major U.S. ebook marketplace functioning since the pandemic, LBF found itself positioned to benefit from what Rapley describes as the screen industry’s “struggle for content.” “I am fully aware that there are commissioned producers and editors following London Guide Honest,” he says. “And I think it’s a small part of what we see as the future of London Guide Honest as well.” It’s helpful that the real one is owned and run by RX World, the company behind TV Markets in conjunction with Mipcom.
LBF includes three strands – publisher programs ranging from large to independent, a global rights hub to connect publishers and content creators, and a commercial program that includes panels, talks and readings. This year’s contributors include “Daisy Jones and the Six” creator Taylor Jenkins Reid; U. OK TV host Richard Osman, whose crime novel “The Thursday Homicide Membership” has already been acquired by Amblin Entertainment with Ol Parker set to direct; and “Good Omens” actor Michael Sheen, who will be discussing A Writing Chance, a writing competition he co-founded.
There is no sign that the desire for diversification foods is waning, regardless of the financial downturn and strikes. Young says she is still “flooded” with interest in pre-existing content. “Broadcasters are so aware of the money they are spending on production that they need to know that there is a safe Internet, that there are safe viewers,” she says.
Upcoming big adaptations include David E. Kelley’s version, Tom Wolfe’s novel “A Man in Full” for Netflix, starring Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane, Blake Crouch’s adaptation of his own novel “Darkish Matter” for Apple TV+, “A Good Lady’s News to Homicide” on the BBC, starring Emma Myers of “Wednesday,” and Hulu’s adaptation of Georgia Hunter’s best-selling World War II novel, “We Have Been the Fortunate Ones ”. Meanwhile, Quay Avenue has already lined up two more Harlan Coben novels for Netflix: “Lacking You” and “Runaway.”
Such is the obsession with diversification that Young said he has even heard of screenwriters being asked to write a book about an original idea rather than a screenplay. “There’s a kind of weight to a book that offers the seriousness of the mission,” she says. It’s no surprise that director Matthew Vaughn tried too hard to fool audiences into believing that his latest film, “Argylle,” was based on a spy thriller by an enigmatic debut creator named Elly Conway, before finally It was revealed that it had been co-written as an accompaniment to the film by two veteran authors, Terry Hayes and Tammy Cohen, at Vaughn’s request.
In fact, not all editorial development will translate to the screen. The most recent massive factor in books is “romantasia,” a portmanteau of romance and fantasy. Despite the promise to option the next “Twilight,” the potential cost of bringing the genre to life means it has been more difficult to get executives on board.
Which raises the question of whether it’s actually the books that are influencing the screen or if it’s the opposite, especially as the success of “Idiot Me Once” on Netflix has seen publishers inundated with Harlan Coben-style contemporary crime. manuscripts. “There is movement, but the movement is not always synchronized,” says Gregory. “But, without a doubt, the two worlds communicate.”
Free, who is working on an original script with Coben that is not based on one of his books (“Lazarus” for Amazon Prime Video), agrees that developments are going both ways. “I think it’s a very fascinating symbiotic relationship,” he says. “Because in a lot of ways, we’re all trying to do the same thing, which is just tell good stories.”
Guide-to-screen developments to watch out for:
Romantasia
Think “Game of Thrones” meets “Bridgerton,” with lots of sex and dragons. “There was a big push for a lot of romance and more kind of epic love stories. I think we’re getting a lot of requests for that,” says Richman, who cites Rebecca Yarros’ “Fourth Wing” as the possible next “Twilight.”
Books already turned into films being adapted for TV
“One Day” was first adapted as a feature film starring Anne Hathaway in 2011 by Lone Scherfig before Drama Republic remade it as a series for Netflix. Meanwhile, the last “Harry Potter” was released in 2010 and a reboot is in development at Warner Bros. Discovery for a 10-season series. “Broadcasters are not willing to spend a huge amount of money on untested water,” says Younger. “So yes, there are a lot of remakes going on.”
Authors as IP
Authors like Agatha Christie or Shakespeare transcend their own work, their names become IP as valuable as their actual writing. Some modern authors – like Harlan Coben – are achieving the same kind of brand recognition. “Harlan’s title has great recognition among the public,” says Price. “They know that when they show up for a gift from Harlan Coben, it will meet their expectations.”
Writers’ anthologies
As authors move to IP, producers are increasingly interested in a series of stories from a branded author. “A lot of producers today are asking, ‘Can we do a Harlan Coben on another creator?’” says Young. “It may not be an anthology series, but a kind of returning drama with finite stories under the banner of an author name.”
More movies, a lot less TV diversifications
With the contraction in TV, publishers are once again seeing more interest from film producers. “It was an incredible year for movies,” says Richman. “We saw a big increase in the characteristic market.”
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