Book Adaptation Era

Daisy Jones and the Six - Prime Video

When my dear friend and still photographer, Anne Marie Fox, told me about her last day on the set of NIGHTBITCH, a film based on a debut novel by Rachel Yoder, I went straight to my neighborhood library to get a hold of it.

Any chance you are like me – you must beat the film by reading the book before it gets released?

I read it in one sitting. The book is visceral and ironic, a satirical fairy tale about a frustrated first-time mother who becomes convinced she is turning into... a dog! Although not your conventional novel or obvious adaptation, director Marielle Heller had a vision, which was shared by Amy Adams, who plays the main character.

The story got me wondering, if a Kafkaesque book sparks attention, and investment, to become a motion picture, are we solidifying the BOOK ADAPTATION ERA?

Literary adaptations have always been around – but in the past years, a Forbes report shows that films based on books earned 53% more at the worldwide box office from original screenplays.In 2022, in the US alone, 60+ movies and TV shows were adapted from books. Here are some of them from Vulture’s and Shondaland’s lists.

• Of course, those numbers keep agents and consultants like us on the tip of their toes to see what is coming ahead (and, beware, sometimes a bad book becomes a good film; unfortunately, very often the opposite happens). We use several different strategies to get a hold of a new gem. Here are some of our tactics:maintaining a close relationship with publishers, critics, blog reviewers and editors

• retaining an even closer connection with literary agents

• attending book fairs

• reaching out to book clubs and friends who love to read

• always, always keeping our eyes open to what will make the best-selling lists – they are great indicators of the current zeitgeist. 

The mechanism behind book adaptations is very simple: a published book has a marked-tested and reader-approved seal that inspires more confidence in investors and (apparently) more inspiration in talents who want to be attached to the projects. So, it makes sense to go after those IPs that have been somehow verified and, most of the time, have a fanbase. 

We have helped our clients produce dozens of books into film & TV series. Believe it or not, I have spotted books for them at airport bookstores, street libraries, and radio interviews that are now offered as entertainment on streamers' catalogs. 

You just never know where the next HARRY POTTER (that grossed 9.2 billion dollars in its ten movies) will come from!

I hope you are enjoying our newsletter and will take a look at our new website, in celebration of our 25th anniversary!

Cheers!

Laura