Producer Options ITW Author's Book after Internet Tussle
In the annals of Hollywood lore, there have been many strange ways that movies came to be made, but when cameras start rolling on it, The Flock will be the first picture that came out of a flame war between the producer and the book's author.
It started when producer Don Murphy of Angry Films was checking in on the message board of his friend Eddie Campbell, illustrator of the Alan Moore graphic novel From Hell, which Murphy had produced as a film. On the board, he found some critical comments about the picture that really upset him. Thinking he'd give as good as he got, Murphy discovered that the poster, James Robert Smith, had a book out, so he ordered it, expecting to read a self-published book he could shred publicly.
To his surprise, Murphy found a book that Publisher's Weekly called "an entertaining debut" in which "Smith maps out a complex living environment that makes the flock's continued existence almost believable and depicts human characters who match the killer birds in adaptability." The story of a flock of prehistoric birds hiding in the Florida
everglades until their habitat is sold off to developers grabbed Murphy, and he convinced John Wells that it should be part of a coproducing arrangement between the two Hollywood impresarios. Along with their respective partners Susan Montford at Angry Films and Claire Rudnick Polstein, President of John Wells Productions, they have
optioned the film and are currently working with scribe Travis Milloy on translating it to the screen as a summer tent-pole release, most likely for 2011.
For author Smith, the process seems sometimes less than completely real. A postal carrier by day, Smith has been working away at his writing craft in novels, short stories, and comics for decades. Becoming an "overnight sensation" over an on-line disagreement after all that hard work may not be the proscribed method of success in publishing, but as most writers know, you take your breaks where they come.
For more information, visit Smith's website at http://www.jamesrobertsmith.net/.
It started when producer Don Murphy of Angry Films was checking in on the message board of his friend Eddie Campbell, illustrator of the Alan Moore graphic novel From Hell, which Murphy had produced as a film. On the board, he found some critical comments about the picture that really upset him. Thinking he'd give as good as he got, Murphy discovered that the poster, James Robert Smith, had a book out, so he ordered it, expecting to read a self-published book he could shred publicly.
To his surprise, Murphy found a book that Publisher's Weekly called "an entertaining debut" in which "Smith maps out a complex living environment that makes the flock's continued existence almost believable and depicts human characters who match the killer birds in adaptability." The story of a flock of prehistoric birds hiding in the Florida
everglades until their habitat is sold off to developers grabbed Murphy, and he convinced John Wells that it should be part of a coproducing arrangement between the two Hollywood impresarios. Along with their respective partners Susan Montford at Angry Films and Claire Rudnick Polstein, President of John Wells Productions, they have
optioned the film and are currently working with scribe Travis Milloy on translating it to the screen as a summer tent-pole release, most likely for 2011.
For author Smith, the process seems sometimes less than completely real. A postal carrier by day, Smith has been working away at his writing craft in novels, short stories, and comics for decades. Becoming an "overnight sensation" over an on-line disagreement after all that hard work may not be the proscribed method of success in publishing, but as most writers know, you take your breaks where they come.
For more information, visit Smith's website at http://www.jamesrobertsmith.net/.
ThrillerFest
ITW's annual celebration of the thriller world is the largest event of its kind, a meeting place for authors, readers, budding writers, and publishing industry professionals.
For 2011, we’ll be back in the heart of New York in July with the ThrillerFest conference including CraftFest and AgentFest.
ThrillerFest VI will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
The dates will be July 6-9, 2011.
More information to follow.
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