Publishers Want Higher Billing in Book-Film Deals

The idea for Random House Films came to Peter Gethers several years ago when the veteran book editor, novelist and screenwriter began thinking there had to be a way for publishers to participate in the production of movies based on their books. He brought the idea of a book-filmmaker partnership to Peter Olson, Random House's chief executive, who approved the idea but told him to find a partner.

When a mutual friend introduced him to James Schamus, co-president of Focus Features, Gethers said, it was a perfect fit. He was particularly struck, he said, by the filmmaker's desire to bring high-quality literary work to the screen, and to give authors a greater say in the adaptations of their books.

The partners hope to green-light at least two or three movies a year, splitting the profits 50-50. They will also share the expenses 50-50, aiming for an initial slate of 10 films over the next few years.

But with none of these movies exceeding $20 million in production costs, the venture will be steering clear of blockbuster properties like "The Da Vinci Code" and concentrating on high-quality, less visible books that otherwise might not get turned into films.

If Random House authors and their agents do not want to sign up for a movie deal with the publisher and Focus Features, they will not be pressured to do so, Gethers said.

The venture recently announced its first three projects: films of Koontz's book, which debuted atop national bestseller lists; "Curveball," by Los Angeles Times staff writer Bob Drogin, based on a news story about intelligence failures leading to the Iraq war; and "The Attack," a novel about a suicide bombing, by the well-regarded Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra. All these book-to-movie projects are still in development, but Gethers said the films are "very likely" to be made because of Focus Features' distribution arrangements with Universal Pictures, of which it is a part.

At the very least, the plan could give Random House an opportunity to compete for deals that were off limits before -- like "The Devil Wears Prada."

"This hasn't happened before in the book world, and if we succeed, we'll be bringing in more money from a book-movie deal than publishers normally do," Gethers said.

At HarperCollins, Chief Executive Jane Friedman is promoting a new book-to-television venture with Fox TV Studios. Under the plan, the two divisions of News Corp. jointly evaluate titles that could be transformed into television series. And Fox TV officials would also identify TV writers who might become authors for HarperCollins.