Lit agent Claire Lundberg came to the defense of the U.S. studios during a debate on the books-to-TV business here in Edinburgh this morning.
Lundberg, CEO and founder of Paris-based CTL Scouting, said, “American studios get dinged for buying a lot and not making a whole lot,” but that this didn’t always reflect the reality.
Writers or preferred producers being unavailable, or debates with the work’s author are among the issues that can slow down development after an option, she said, adding: “It’s like pushing jello up a hill.”
Talking on a panel about literary IP here at the Edinburgh TV Festival this morning, Lundberg said that between “40-50%” of everything on television is adapted from existing IP, even with prices rising massively over recent years.
Hilary Strong, CEO of International Literary Properties, concurred, saying: “In a difficult market, having titles and authors does help to elevate a pitch. It gives commissioners something tangible. Taking raw work that’s had an extraordinary life before it into a commissioner gives confidence to that pitch, in this current market that is where people are nervous.
The past few years has seen an explosion of book adaptations in TV through the likes of Nine Perfect Strangers and Slow Horses, but Lundberg noted that they can only be successful if the development process is followed properly, and that commissioners are beginning to look for quicker turnaround projects.
“Book IP can be a great way of building a slate and holding on a certain level of control, but it’s a multistep process. You have to go through the adaptation,” said Lundberg. “In the past five years, there has been a race to secure big pieces of IP. Now we’re hearing people might want things that are more one to one and can happen more quickly.”
Lundberg said that in terms of adaptation trends, there had been “a little return to 1990s and 2000s nostalgia” and demand for male-led stories that are less popular in book publishing right now. “Jack Reacher, Jack Ryan, there are a lot of Jacks around,” she quipped. “We’ve kind of lost that audience. It’s very female-driven in the books market.”
The Edinburgh TV Festival began yesterday and runs until Friday in the Scottish capital. The likes of Will.i.am, James Graham and Carol Vorderman will be speaking over the next three days.
