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Adaptations
Are they worth it?
As we all know, IP is very en vogue right now and sometimes feels like a requirement to sell a script. Adaptations are a big part of IP development and books are always getting made into movies. So what if a writer could get their hands on a great book and secure the film rights? Should you do it?
I’ve written a few adaptations, and found it can be challenging to take existing material, especially novels, and translate it to film. It’s a great exercise in what filmmaking is all about. In fact, I think it would make for a terrific class — choosing a novel, finding the movie inside it, and then just simply working on structuring the screenplay. With one book, you might get 10 different angles for potential adaptation.
One great adaptation was a collaboration with screenwriter Pamela Wallace for producer Ellen Freyer, on the Newbery Honor winner Catherine, Called Birdy, by Karen Cushman. It’s a book about a feisty girl living in medieval England who fights off her father’s choice of suitors.
The writer described the screenplay “like a juvenile Shakespeare in Love” and sold the script to Ben Myron Productions. Unfortunately, the movie was tough to set up at a studio because it was a period piece (which means a big budget), and it had a young female lead, neither of which is historically a good bet in Hollywood. In…
