The Cold, Hard Facts: What Hollywood Wants in a Book Acquisition - podcast

When Hollywood is looking for their next big movie idea, they often look to books. However, for a book to become a movie, the book must meet certain criteria. Ken Atchity, agent, producer, and CEO of StoryMerchant.com, shares what Hollywood wants in a book acquisition. He says that producers look for essential elements when considering a book acquisition: castability, dramatic structure, and setting. Castability means that you have to have a characters who can be played by significant names, actors, and actresses to whom distributors can relate. A male lead is extremely important. The second element to consider is dramatic structure. You need to have clear first, second, and third acts to the story. You have a much better chance of having your novel made into a film if your ending is uplifting as opposed to depressing or ambiguous. Third, an American setting or some other clearly American element is essential if you want your book to be made into an American film, whether in the independent market or the feature market.