NEW YORK -- In the last two years, Jody Hotchkiss, a literary agent specializing in book-to-film deals, has had high hopes for two titles focusing on the Iraq war. Both books were vivid and highly cinematic, he said. He pitched them to producers.
Filmmakers wouldn't touch "The Deserter's Tale," fearing box office poison in the true story of a soldier who said he was horrified by U.S. atrocities and fled to Canada. But Johnny Depp acquired the rights to "The Bomb in My Garden," about an Iraqi scientist who tried to develop an atomic bomb for Saddam Hussein, then turned himself and his research in to U.S. officials. The only hitch: Producers changed the focus, beefing up the role of the American journalist who helped the bomb maker escape Baghdad. "Nobody wants to see a film about an Iraqi nuclear scientist," a source close to the deal explained.
When studios adapt books into films, there is always a risk: No matter how compelling a literary property may be, producers must find financing, create a high-quality film and succeed at the box office. Yet all these hurdles loom even larger when it comes to adapting for the screen books about the Iraq war -- and there are already many, including more than 40 being published just this fall.
Even if they are opposed to the conflict, many Hollywood producers are nervous about bankrolling films on the war at a time when the national mood is so volatile. ("The Deserter's Tale" finally found a home -- with a Canadian film production company.) And although there is a wave of Iraq films on the horizon, the disappointing performance of several recent movies, including "In the Valley of Ellah" and "Rendition," only underscores the skittishness about which books to option, if any.
It was a different story two years ago. Filmmakers were rushing to buy Iraq-themed literary properties at a time when national sentiment against the war seemed to be hardening. But then the book-buying fever died down, as an early exit strategy proved elusive and no clear political consensus emerged.
"Hollywood has trouble keeping up with the shifting political climate and an election cycle in this country that never seems to end," said veteran producer Lynda Obst. "So the big question becomes which film adaptations can survive the long time it takes to make a movie, and hold the interest of directors and movie stars, and also survive the interest of a fickle movie audience."
