tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post5438307835957873394..comments2024-03-15T09:26:02.796-05:00Comments on PROJECT MAYHEM: SELLING MOVIE RIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! by James MihaleyProject Mayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154342399869089664noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-2390197828931772642015-10-18T00:35:48.750-05:002015-10-18T00:35:48.750-05:00Dianne said it, guys. Patience. Hollywood is a lot...Dianne said it, guys. Patience. Hollywood is a lot about the talk up front but things move slow. Before The Atomic Weight of Secrets was finished, there was attention from film folks. Having grown up in LA, I really did not pay much attention (we were in the middle of a revolution in Egypt so it was easy to be distracted.) Seeing The Lightning Thief film (which tore RR's amazing story apart) made me panic since several people who approached us suggested combining the first two books, or even the trilogy, into one film. My editor (who is a screenwriter) and I wrote the screenplays for the first two books. I HIGHLY recommend creating the screenplay or working with a partner! Even if it gets changed dramatically, the essence will be yours. It makes a difference. I met with a producer in LA before returning to Cairo and he said the same thing. That said, if the Australian backing wants something Australian, there will be Australians in the script. If the Asian group is where the producer turns, I may have to create a character from the Far East. It is important to remember that the film and the book are separate entities telling something of the same story in very different ways. You have to let go of details and be zen about it.eden unger bowditchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17874537224610872095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-44608200442444805082015-10-16T23:36:13.354-05:002015-10-16T23:36:13.354-05:00If you're interested in script writing, or wri...If you're interested in script writing, or writing in general, you might enjoy my brothers blog, Let's Schmooze: http://letsschmooze.blogspot.com/<br /><br />Doug wrote the original story for the movie Sweet Home Alabama and teaches pitching and scriptwriting at Pasadena Art Center. I find it interesting how often his advice to scriptwriters works for novelists as well. In fact, I quoted him and a couple of other successful scriptwriters in an article which was recently reprinted here: http://www.southwestwriters.com/the-hollywood-touch-screenwriting-tricks-for-novelists/Kris Bockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16217265282250089583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-49325759078755572022015-10-16T11:40:10.706-05:002015-10-16T11:40:10.706-05:00I sold a couple of screenplays on my own and do f...I sold a couple of screenplays on my own and do feel comfortable writing in the genre. We're working on funding for you can't have my planet right now to make it independentlyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15958657151960409700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-9773175317378830002015-10-16T09:17:43.172-05:002015-10-16T09:17:43.172-05:00I with you on the time that things take in publish...I with you on the time that things take in publishing, Dianne. Did you know that the publishing industry began as a collaboration between Methuselah and Job?Michael G-Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07947421844294471304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-65469302278237939482015-10-16T09:10:03.686-05:002015-10-16T09:10:03.686-05:00So... did you sell the movie rights, James? (And d...So... did you sell the movie rights, James? (And drink all that champagne?)<br /><br />I know Save The Cat was written by a screen writer, and has since been co-opted by novelists, including me.Michael G-Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07947421844294471304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-10999413108478121402015-10-16T08:04:11.716-05:002015-10-16T08:04:11.716-05:00When a film option was sold on my first book, We H...When a film option was sold on my first book, We Hear the Dead, I was asked to collaborate on a screenplay with the producer. I had never aspired to such a thing, but she worked with me and after 18 months we had a screenplay to shop around. I was pretty proud of the fact that my screenplay writing skills were praised everywhere she took the script. The producer told me they kept asking, "This is really her first one?" Apparently I had an ear for believable dialogue. Alas, it was decided that the proposed movie had a limited appeal. (ie: teens wouldn't go out to see it because it was historical romance and not horror, despite the title.)<br /><br />A couple years later, the producer got funding through a Canadian company to make a short film and I bowed out as screenwriter b/c it had to be written by a Canadian as part of the rules. A short film WAS made, premiered at Cannes in 2013, and is now available to watch on YouTube. (It's called The Spirit Game.) The producer still hopes to sell it as a TV series premise, so the project is not dead yet. <br /><br />But she first picked up the rights in 2009 and has been renewing them every 18 months since. So, just saying, you have to have A LOT of patience after selling a movie option.<br /><br />Ahem, just like when trying to sell a manuscript. Right? ;)Dianne K. Salernihttp://diannesalerni.com/blog/noreply@blogger.com