The news from Hollywood continues to be cause for celebration by authors and screenwriters. Over half of all deals made by film producers in 2012 were for original work. About 29% of purchases were books. And the majority of those weren’t the usual blockbuster novels or best-sellers. I saw loads of deals for older books by unknown or less prominent authors. There were e-books, indie published books and little known titles.

29% OF ALL DEALS WERE FOR BOOKS
Out of a total of 1216 deals from January through December 2012 we analyzed using statistics from DoneDealPro, 358 (29%) were for books. The number one favorite genre for Hollywood adaptation was drama with 76 deals. Thriller came in second with 53 and graphic novel in third with 35.

SPEC SCRIPT MARKET MAKES A REBOUND
Screenplays written on spec (speculation that they would sell) made up approximately 25% of deals with 298 scripts purchased or optioned. Thriller was the hot genre with 78 scripts sold. Drama came in a distance second, selling 38. Third place was a tie between comedy and horror. Each genre sold 29 scripts.

INSIDER DEALS
Even though producers and studios were more open to original work, there were a lot of insider deals, like assignments and pitches. Those made up approximately 29% of the total with 356 deals. There were 93 pitches or treatments sold (mostly pitches). In second place there was a tie between domestic remakes and inside deals. Inside deals are primarily made up of star-driven projects with bankable attachments.

FILM ADAPTATIONS
Film adaptation deals (excluding books) made up 17% of all deals in 2012, with a total of 204. True life stories are always popular with producers and that tops the adaptation deals with 76. There were 37 comic book, comic strip and cartoon deals made.

This analysis was done by using DoneDealPro.com, a comprehensive database of Hollywood deals. I searched for all deals for each month and printed them out. Then I read each deal carefully to judge which category in my analysis it should be entered into. Then I counted the total deals in each category and generated a chart.

To download the 6-page analysis for free, click here:
ANALYSIS OF HOLLYWOOD DEALS

YouGoFar requested four full screenplays and synopsis from screenwriters. They also requested three manuscripts and/or books plus synopsis. Best of luck to all our writers sending scripts and books to YouGoFar.

D.D. Queens

D.D. Queens is an Award-winning journalist whose work (written under Denise Bates Enos) has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Caribbean Travel & Life. She holds both a B.A. and M.A. in English from Florida State University and is a Florida Writers Association member.

Best of luck, D.D.!

Here are the numbers for the Fall 2012 Writers Pitch Book that was sent to Hollywood:

18 pitches for screenplays
33 pitches for books; film & TV rights available

These are the production companies we sent the Pitch Book to at 1:30 p.m. today:

Davis Entertainment
56 films produced including: Chronicle, Predators with Adrien Brody and Laurence Fishburne; Marmaduke; the Dr. Dolittle movies; Garfield movies and more. Films in production include: A Little Bit of Heaven with Kate Hudson and Whoopi Goldberg; Mr. Popper’s Penguins starring Jim Carrey and projects in development include
Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles.

 Donners’ Company
17 films produced: the X-Men films; Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant with John C. Reilly; Hotel for Dogs; The Secret Life of Bees starring
Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah.

Escape Artists
10 films produced: Hope Springs, The Back-up Plan, The Taking of Pelham 123, Knowing,  The Pursuit of Happyness, A Knight’s Tale and others.
Twenty-four films in active production currently.

Original Film
47 films produced including: Total Recall (2012), 21 Jump Street, The Green Hornet,
Fast & Furious series, Prom Night, I Am Legend, Evan Almighty, Gridiron Gang, Click, S.W.A.T, Static, Sweet Home Alabama, Slackers,
Saving Silverman, Cruel Intentions and more.

Summit Entertainment
121 films including: Man on a Ledge, Gone, Sinister, Step Up Revolution, Twilight, Eclipse and New Moon; Resident Evil series; The Hurt Locker; Letters to Juliet; Furry Vengeance and many more. Films in production: Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn; The Cold Light of Day with Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver; Red with Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman. Films in development include Riptide starring Brad Pitt.

]]> http://writerspitchbook.com/2012/10/11/writers-pitch-book-goes-to-hollywood/feed/ 2 http://writerspitchbook.com/2012/10/04/agents-get-new-pitch-book/ http://writerspitchbook.com/2012/10/04/agents-get-new-pitch-book/#comments Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:20:35 +0000 Sharon Y Cobb http://writerspitchbook.com/?p=562 Continue reading →]]> After days of editing, the Fall 2012 Writers Pitch Book has begun going out to book agents this morning.

The following prominent agents just received the new Pitch Book via email:

Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger, Inc.
Mollie Glick, Foundry Media
Sandy Lu, L. Perkins Agency
Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
Alexandra Machinist, Janklow

Additional agents are being invited to get the Pitch Book, as well as editors.

The Hollywood Writers Pitch Book begins going to producers next week featuring pitches for screenplays and Film & TV Rights for books.

Sometimes writers wait until the last minute to do something we need to do. Then we rush to meet our deadline. On occasion we just miss the deadline. For those of you who intended to submit their pitches to be included in the Fall 2012 Writers Pitch Book by the deadline of Friday, August 31, you may take a deep breath. The deadline has been extended to Saturday, September 15, midnight.

We will still begin distributing the Fall Pitch Book to agents, editors and Hollywood producers the week of October 1.

Hope to see your pitch in the Fall Pitch Book!

Hollywood is bullish on books. Thirty-two percent of all film deals reported by DoneDealPro.com in the first six months of 2012 were for books. And it’s not just about buying blockbuster, bestsellers now. There were lots of deals for older, lesser known books, unpublished manuscripts by new writers, e-books, book series as well as a few bestsellers.

Out of a total of 668 deals reported from January 1, 2012 through June 30, 2012, 211 or 32% were books; 188 or 28% were screenplays written on spec; 169 or 25% were inside deals, pitches and assignments; and 100 or 15% were adaptations of other materials, excluding books.
Drama was the leading genre choice of Hollywood producers, followed by thriller and graphic novel of various genres. True life stories are always hot and the first six months of 2012 was no exception with 19 deals made for bio dramas. Following other trends, producers made deals for Teen/YA (young adult), scifi, horror and children’s books.

Writers Pitch Book has seen a surge of submissions from book authors for the Film & TV Rights section of the Pitch Book. The Fall 2012 Pitch Book will be distributed to book agents, book editors and Hollywood producers beginning in September. The deadline for submissions is August 31, midnight. To learn how to write a pitch and submit it, visit www.WritersPitchBook.com.

For spec scripts, thriller ran away with the No. 1 spot, selling 49 screenplays. Twenty-nine dramas were sold or optioned, followed by 21 comedies. Horror and scifi came in fourth and fifth with 18 and 17 scripts respectively.

Among the projects I identified as generated by the pros at production companies or WGA writers, pitches ranked No. 1 with 49 sold in the six-month period. Following pitches, inside deals, sequels, domestic remakes, rewrites, foreign remakes, assignments and films based on TV series generated 25% of the total deals.

Fifteen percent of the projects launched in Hollywood for the first six months of 2012 were film adaptations based on underlying rights. True life stories ranked No. 1 with 39 optioned or purchased. Comic books were No. 2. Following that were film adaptations of: stage plays, magazine articles, short stories, short films, video games, comic strips and documentary films.

This analysis was done by using DoneDealPro.com, a comprehensive database of Hollywood deals. I searched for all deals for each month and printed them out. Then I read each deal carefully to judge which category in my analysis it should be entered into. Then I counted the total deals in each category and generated a chart.

To download the 6-page analysis for free, click here: ANALYSIS OF HOLLYWOOD DEALS

Sandy asked for a synopsis and first three chapters from five writers who submitted pitches to the Spring 2012 Writers Pitch Book.

The work requested by Sandy Lu was in the following categories:
• Fantasy
• Historical Adventure
• Science Fiction
• YA Fantasy
• YA

Best of luck to our writers as they send their manuscripts to Sandy!

Thanks to many writers eager to submit their pitches, we’ve opened submissions a few days early. I appreciate everyone who sent emails asking to submit their pitches right away. I’m considering keeping submissions open year-round. More news on that later.

Please read all the information on how to write and submit a pitch before you pay for your pitch and send it in an email to Sharon.

Make sure the pitch is as good as it can get. Have fellow writers give input. Read it aloud to friends to see how it sounds. You want your pitch to leap off the page and grab the agent, editor or Hollywood producer by the throat. So take your time and polish it until it’s irresistible.

When you’re really happy with your pitch/es, go ahead and submit it to Writers Pitch Book:

http://writerspitchbook.com/pay-for-pitches/

Best of luck with your writing and your pitches.

Sharon

Escape Artists
Films produced: The Back-up Plan, The Taking of Pelham 123, Knowing,
The Pursuit of Happyness, A Knight’s Tale and others.
Twenty-four films in active production currently.

 The Donners’ Company
Films produced: the X-Men films; Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant with
John C. Reilly; Hotel for Dogs; The Secret Life of Bees starring
Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah. Six films in active production currently.

More updates as more Hollywood producers request the Pitch Book. We are actively recruiting right now and hope to have more announcements soon.