“Writing,” Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, screenwriter, and director David Mamet told Bill Maher on Friday’s Real Time, “is just making shit up.” Mamet has made a successful career of that, creating such plays as Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed-the-Plow, and writing/directing such films as Heist, Wag the Dog and Hannibal, among others. Now, he’s out with
Books
What do you do after you’ve spent 13 years as a senior comms exec at NBCUniversal? Write a book, obviously. Traci Saulsberry, who was most recently SVP, Communications for Peacock, has signed with a literary agent and is prepping her own tome. Saulsberry, who worked on shows such as Bel Air, Girls5eva and The Voice
Controversial interview remarks by Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner have led to his removal from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation board of directors. The board administrates the selections for the Hall of Fame museum. The vote to remove Wenner had just one dissenter, reportedly Bruce Springsteen manager Jon Landau. The Rock and
Organizers of the National Book Awards said Tuesday that they have rescinded their offer to Drew Barrymore to host their annual ceremony this year after news that her daily talk show would resume despite the ongoing Writers Guild strike received backlash. “In light of the announcement that The Drew Barrymore Show will resume production, the
There’s a lot to unpack to properly adapt The Dark Tower books by Stephen King. There have been past efforts that fell flat, and now there’s a writer’s strike that has tied up producton. But director Mike Flanagan remains optimistic that he can bring home a compelling version, as he related Thurday at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Simon & Schuster has announced that it will cease distribution of The Book of Animal Secrets by Dr. David B. Agus amid allegations of plagiarism. The Los Angeles Times reports that it found at least 95 separate passages in Agus’ book that appeared almost word for word in other publications that can be found on the
Gran Torino producer Double Nickel Entertainment is forging a limited TV series about the life of Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law Jo van Gogh-Bonger. The indie has picked up the scripted and doc rights to Jo van Gogh-Bonger: The Woman Who Made Vincent Famous and is co-operating with the Vincent van Gogh museum to tell van Gogh-Bonger’s
Viva Editions/Simon & Schuster plans to release the memoir Call Me Anne, the sequel to the late actress Anne Heche’s first biography, in January 2023. Described by the publisher as a personal peek inside Heche’s mind, Call Me Anne consists of personal anecdotes of her rise to fame. These include how Harrison Ford became her
EXCLUSIVE: FilmNation Entertainment TV is developing a limited series based on R.O. Kwon’s critically acclaimed novel The Incendiaries. The series will be written by Lisa Randolph (Jessica Jones, Star Trek: Discovery) and directed by Kogonada (Pachinko, After Yang). FilmNation Entertainment will produce in association with Wishmore Entertainment. The project is currently being shopped around. The Incendiaries
Former Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger is at work on a new book about decision-making in business, entertainment and politics, with a tentative 2024 publication date by Random House. Iger previously authored the 2019 New York Times bestseller The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company.
Spiegel & Grau has acquired North American rights to A Heart That Works, a memoir by actor Rob Delaney, from Meredith Miller at United Talent Agency, working in partnership with Avalon. A Heart That Works will be published in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook, read by the author, on November 29. The acquisition was announced by Julie
EXCLUSIVE: Blackstone Publishing has acquired worldwide publishing rights to Sean Scott Hicks’ autobiography, The Devil To Pay: A Mobster’s Road To Perdition. The company’s Director of Media, TV and Film, Brendan Deneen brokered the deal and will now edit the book, while shopping film and TV rights to studios and streamers. The Devil To Pay
EXCLUSIVE: Stath Lets Flats and People Just Do Nothing producer Roughcut TV has deepened its push into the premium drama space by snapping up the rights to Nina Milns’ darkly comic satirical debut novel Goddesses, in what it described as a stiffly competitive situation. The comedy producer launched a high-end drama slate two years ago and Sarah Vaughan’s
EXCLUSIVE: TelevisaUnivision is adapting literary Nobel Prize-winner Mario Vargas Llosa’s novel “Captain Pantoja and the Special Service” as an exclusive Spanish-language series for its premium streaming service Vix+. The series will feature a modern take on this story about a Captain who leads a secret mission for the army to recruit women who use their
Wall Street Journal reporter Erich Schwartzel’s book, Red Carpet: Hollywood, China and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy, warns in its prologue: “China’s pressure on Hollywood and its own entertainment industry have the potential to challenge the American film industry as the chief narrator of the twenty-first century.” The book overall looks at the history
The Girls On The Bus‘ long journey to the small screen has come to a successful conclusion with a straight-to-series order at HBO Max. The drama series adaptation of Amy Chozick’s best-selling book Chasing Hillary, from Julie Plec, Chozick, Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. TV, originally landed at Netflix with a series order two and
EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Will Yun Lee and Mark and Christine Holder’s Seoul Street has acquired rights to Silver Phoenix author Cindy Pon’s bestselling sci-fi novels Want and sequel Ruse for development as an international television series. The book series, published by Simon & Schuster under their YA banner Pulse, explores a divided society
EXCLUSIVE: Around The World In 80 Days writer Stephen Greenhorn is penning an adaptation of James Goodhand’s YA novel Last Lesson for Sanditon producer Red Planet Pictures. Death In Paradise indie Red Planet has optioned the rights to Goodhand’s debut, which was published last year and examines the psychological breakdown of model student and talented musician Ollie Morcombe after
EXCLUSIVE: Lawrence “LAW” Watford’s Divine Write Pictures has optioned film, television and digital rights to the book The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age by Patrick Parr. Watford is planning to adapt the book for television via his Tyler Street Films partnership with Jack Manning III and Tiffany Elle Burgess; all are graduates