I think it was Elmore Leonard who said he made more money from a bad picture than he did from a best selling book.
Most of the books I've read in the past year conform to the three-act structure, intentionally or not, and most would make great pictures. Jeff Shelby's Killer Swell, Dusty Rhoades' Devil's Right Hand, Duane's The Wheelman, Olen Steinhauer's Bridge of Sighs and most recently, For The Dogs, Kevin Wignall's book that has indeed been optioned for the big screen.
I can't count how many people (OK, three) have told me that Beneath A Panamanian Moon would make a good movie, and I know ICM shopped it around, although I don't know how hard. I don't consciously write for Hollywood, but once the book is done I allow myself to fantasize a bit, just as someone might fantasize about hitting the lottery. But I know the odds are just as long.
5 comments:
I'm a movie buff, so much so that it was actually my major in college. I just naturally think in terms of visuals. Most of what I write has already played on the flickering movie screen inside my head.
And yes, BAPM would make a great movie.
Hey, if you can get Myrna Loy to star, I'll finance it.
Thanks for the good word, and I look forward to Panamanian Moon. Tell you what, I'll shoot yours on hi-8, you shoot mine on VHS, and we'll premiere at Sundance....
I just saw Munich, for which I'd been excitedly waiting for a long time. Hmm. Something in the writing or editing fucked with the momentum, though it's beautifully shot. Should've been the best film of the year, but it isn't.
Harper animated in clay? That could work.
That's too bad about Munich, Olen. I was looking forward to it, too, just from what I'd read about the moral complexity.
I did see a terrific movie a few nights ago, Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmusch with Bill Murray. Maybe it's my age and misspent youth, but the character resonated with me like a Chinese gong.
Ted: If David starts raising the dead, making movies is going to be the last thing on his mind.
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