Hollywood & the Lit World
A Love Story.
Last night, I gave a very lengthy pod cast interview. The questions were thought-provoking, and that got me all tingly, so I drank a double espresso, turned on Skype, and babbled my way through a fun one-hour conversation about books and movies.
Later, after the coffee buzz wore off, I realized I get asked a similar question all the time. When I’m on the east coast, it’s about Hollywood. When I’m in L.A., they want to know about my novels. It suddenly occurred to me that Hollywood is in love with the Literary World. And the Literary World is enamored with Hollywood!
Alright, this may not be news to anyone, but there are things going on right now between the two that a lot of people might not know about. The publishing industry is going through significant changes—writers are now self-publishing at a clip faster than George Clooney is going through women and Kardashians are endorsing products. And Hollywood is looking for content because “Content is King.” That just means good stories delivered via various forms of media.
But now you don’t need to wait for a novel to hit the Best Sellers list before it becomes a movie. (Incidentally, readers aren’t that interested in Best Sellers—about 65% of readers, according to Publisher’s Weekly, are more interested in—here’s that word again—content.) Now, Hollywood is actively seeking out writers who have great manuscripts, taking the manuscript and delivering a movie and a book at the same time.
Yes, this is indeed a good love story.
Hollywood is fascinated by people who not only can craft a great tale, but make it readable on paper. You know what I mean—without being riddled with grammatical errors and typos. And The Literary World can’t get enough of sitting in the dark watching Robert Downey, Jr. beat up bad guys in a heavy red iron suit.
This is already happening. I watched it in real-time in L.A.—in less than 15 minutes, a 350 page manuscript was made into a movie and book deal before I finished my glass of wine.
So, here’s the big question for writers. While you’re writing your book, do you hear a soundtrack? You should.
Jennifer B. White is an award-winning director, writer and Hollywood copywriter and tagline writer. All her opinions and photos are her own.
One response to “Hollywood & the Lit World”
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Hollywood & the Lit World, splayed out on the table, for all to see. I love it! It’s like they cousins at Thanksgiving fighting over the last piece of pie, only because they are jealous of the other.
Keep Tellin us the Truth!!
Steve