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Does anyone have a form letter, or an example of what to send to a publishing house requesting permission and/or the film rights, to write a screenplay based on one of their novels?S. Berkley

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[nq:1]Does anyone have a form letter, or an example of what to send to a publishing house requesting permission and/or the film rights, towrite a screenplay based on one of their novels? S. Berkley[/nq]
There is no such form letter, I'm afraid, and I'm also afraid that you're operating under a bit of a misapprehension or at least the way you've phrased your question suggests that you are.

Publishers, as a rule, do not own the film rights to the books that they publish. They only own the right to publish the books in particular markets. While publishers have, in recent years, attempted to extend the rights that the acquire by default from the writers, to include things like electronic publishing rights and would probably love to have the film rights to the books that they publish in virtually all cases those rights remain the property of the original author of the book, or in the event that that author is no longer alive his heirs.
It isn't, I'm afraid, a matter of "requesting permission" but rather of acquiring those rights, on a case by case basis. This is a legal process which will inevitably require written contracts that will have to be drawn up by an entertainment attorney at your expense. There simply cannot, under any circumstances, be anything fly-by-night or do-it-yourself about it, because the rights that you acquire, and what you promise, will form the basis of any subsequent deal that you, in turn, will then have to make with any producer or studio that you try to sell your screenplay to.
But producers or studios have their own legal obligations. They have union and guild contracts. There are things that, legally, they cannot agree to and other things that they will not agree to. If you have inadvertently bound yourself to something in your deal that they cannot agree to you have killed any possibility of selling the project.

That's why you have to have an entertainment attorney (and it has to be an attorney who specializes in entertainment law, not just any attorney) negotiate the deal.
The place to start would be the "rights department" of the publisher who most recently published the work in question. You can write them or you can call them. But in any case, it might take them awhile to get back to you to let you know who currently owns the rights to the work you're interested in.
Don't be surprised to find that somebody else already owns the rights. Don't forget that for everything that gets made, there are ten projects that never see the light of day. Lots and lots of books get optioned or bought and are never made.
If it hasn't been, then you need to make contact, either with the author directly or the author's agent. If you can make contact with the author directly, that's always preferable.
Requesting an option is always preferable to asking to buy unless you are filthy rich. An option means that you are asking for the option to buy the book within a set amount of time say a year, on terms that are contractually agreed upon up front, for a small percentage of the purchase price up front and also built in to the agreement is the right to extend the option for another year or eighteen months, and sometimes (although rarely) a third year.

While it's nice to be passionate, you have to remember that most writers write for a living and have realized long ago that passion isn't edible. Some may figure, especially if it's an old book that nobody has every expressed any interest in, that it's worth the shot for a few bucks, just on the off chance that maybe something will happen. Others may want to see something more substantial. Others will say, "Call my agent and deal with him."
Agents, as a general rule, are going to be much less flexible when it comes to money, that writers are.
In any case, once you've gotten much beyond the basic terms agreeing to option the material and what the amount of the option is it's time to get the entertainment attorney to negotiate the rest of the deal.
You will find that they do not come cheap however, most states have a Volunteer Counsel for the Arts in which lawyers provide inexpensive legal services to members of the arts community and this can offer you an alternative to going this route.
If you're serious about persuing this that's about what you need to do.
NMS

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Does anyone have a form letter, or an example of what to send to a publishing house requesting permission and/or the film rights, to write a screenplay based on one of their novels? S. Berkley[/nq]
Read all of Neal's email first, then, if you are still interested, you can check the web to see if the publisher communicates via internet about rights (one prominent one does, at least!). Whether by phone or email, you can make your initial query short and sweet:

"I'm inquiring about an option on Property X to develop a screenplay. Can you please tell me whom I should contact?" or words to that effect. As Neal says, the details of the deal will come later, I believe you are just trying to find out if the rights are available.

That's all I did to get contact info for the book I'm pursuing.

Depending on the prominence of the book and author, the kind of deal and the *** involved will vary wildly, plus some agents or attorneys may be able to negotiate the amount down from the first quote.

Best of luck!
I'm pursuing a work right now, and having seen a film based on a similar work by the author, (and after reading Bill Martell's column about the senses and external action in film just because I disagreed with some points in his discussion doesn't mean I didn't get the point, whoo boy, did I get the point!), I'm scared I can't do the work justice. The first ten pages are key in this complex novel (complex thematically, not plot-wise), so I'm doing those 10 pages to satisfy myself and my husband, whose lifestyle may be impacted by our purchase of an option (grin), before starting negotiations also waiting to see if I'm part of a huge layoff at work..blah blah, what was I trying to say?

Oh yeah, be careful, and good luck!
Mysti

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THANKS FOR YOUR HELP ALL

S. Berkley

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