The Art & Science of Movie & Television Optioning
You finally finished your book and can already visualize it as a movie or television series. Perhaps, you have decided on your dream cast. Maybe, you’ve even picked out your red carpet dress. Let’s take a deep breath and a step back. There is an art and science to getting the project funded, developed and produced -- whether it is fiction or non-fiction.
Get Your Book Published by a Reputable Publisher
The first step is to get it published. The publication of your work by a traditional, reputable publisher adds more clout and value, allowing you to option it for a higher price. That’s where Savvy Literary Services comes in. Granted, there are extenuating circumstances where a book is optioned even if it is published by an unknown small press or independently by the author. But make no mistake -- this rarely happens.
It is also possible that an unpublished work of fiction or non-fiction can also be optioned. The pitfall is film and production entities will try acquire the right to option at a bargain price if a work is not officially copyrighted by the Library of Congress or the Writer’s Guild and does not have a traditional publishing home.
Here’s the Good News
These days many film and television production companies as well as major league talent agencies are highly interested in book-to-film projects. The demand for content is extremely strong, and Savvy Literary Services is taking advantage of this trend.
Ideally, we start shopping around film and television rights for a book when the work has undergone the editorial process with its publisher and a publisher-ready digital advance review copy (ARC) becomes available. At this juncture, we send the ARC to our numerous film and television contacts and ask them to consider the work for funding, development and production.
In most cases, if we receive interest, you will not have to write a screenplay. The entity optioning your work will take care of that. Most talent agencies like CAA, UTA, and The Gersh Agency actually prefer book projects that do not have an accompanying screenplay because this means they can use one of their own experienced screenwriters.
The Truth about Shopping Agreements
Most film and television production companies and entities want to do a “shopping agreement” if they can get away with it. A shopping agreement basically means that the author of the work agrees to give the production company/entity a pre-determined amount of time -- usually a year to a year and a half – without receiving any money upfront.
Unfortunately, shopping agreements are becoming more and more prevalent. The logic in agreeing to one is that a production company will work hard to align all the stars: seeking funding; finding an already produced screenwriter to take on the project; attaching a bankable director and other star talent; procuring a distribution deal; and all the other necessary actions needed to get the work in development and production.
Option Agreements are Better
It goes without saying that we prefer to secure a paid option deal, which is a formal written agreement that states the author is willing to give the production company or entity the right to work the project for an agreed upon period of time and will pay the author a mutually agreed upon amount of money. In simpler terms, the author rents the work out, and the production company/entity pays rent money.
One of the most important things that we negotiate when handling an option agreement is the large payout the author will receive if the production company or entity optioning the work is successful in getting all their ducks in a row so that the work can be developed and produced. This amount is usually between three to five percent of the overall production budget.
Option agreements vary with most structured into three different periods. The first option period could be a year. Once that time has expired, the production company/entity will have the choice to extend the option for a longer period of time. There may even be a third option period of another year after that. Every time the production company/entity decides to extend the option, they continue to pay rent -- the previously agreed upon option dollar amount.
The end goal is for the production company/entity to secure the necessary funding, attach bankable talent, and procure a distribution deal so that the intellectual property can be developed, produced, and eventually released to the public. When this point is reached, the author receives his or her previously agreed upon large payout and everyone involved lives happily ever after. See two examples below of happily ever after stories by authors we represent.
“Leticia Gomez is the rare find in that her professional expertise is matched by her personal attention to every detail for her clients… She reaches out to connect her writers to leading publishing houses and also is the expert in pitching television and movie industry executives. Leticia sees the overall potential for combining her skills to publish a book that can also be pitched as a television or movie script. Add her enthusiasm, her advice, and her willingness to direct rewrites to her many attributes. She is the best of the best. You know your work is in good hands with Leticia Gomez.”
