Another emailer asking me if I am doing anything about getting the book made into a movie, following the Italian docuemntary. Because I think the story of Bessler would make a good movie, I did some research and this is what I found.
It seems that about half the movies made in Hollywood are adaptations of stories that originally appeared as novels, nonfiction books, comic books, short stories, plays, poems, or what have you. Hollywood studios and production companies aggressively scan major magazines and the lists of New York publishers looking for books and stories that would make good feature films or television shows. If Random House or Harper Collins or some other “major” house published your book, chances are that a professional “reader” has already read your book and written a short memo (called “coverage”) assessing its movie potential.
If your book was self-published, or published by a smaller press or University press, it’s less likely that a Hollywood “reader” has assessed its movie potential. Hollywood is usually interested in making “big,” popular, commercial movies with wide appeal, so they scan publishers’ lists looking for big, popular commercial books. If your book received unfavorable coverage, or if it was published by an obscure press, then it is unlikely that merely submitting your book to Hollywood studios or talent agents will interest them in its movie potential. Someone (usually you or a producer) will have to show them the movie hidden within the pages of your book, if it’s there.
Given the above state of things I sought information on these professional "readers" and I found that they are difficult if not impossible to contact. It's easier if you have a contact in the movie business but even then they may not see the story as a movie in the way you can. Still the best way is the get a literary agen to sell it to a publisher and then let him approach Hollywood.
Ah well, back to the computer and the manuscript.
JC
