Scholastic has signed a pact with Hollywood management outfit The Gotham Group to be the exclusive representative for its literary projects in the film world. Scholastic has worked on a number of film projects in-house through its Scholastic Media division including The Golden Compass and the forthcoming The 39 Clues and, with the agreement with Gotham, will retain a first-look option on its books.
Speaking to whether the Gotham pact would mean Scholastic would look to produce fewer films, a spokesperson for the company said "not at all." The spokesperson elaborated: "We publish, and have rights to, many more projects than are developed in-house by Scholastic Media. So this arrangement is to provide representation for those other projects."
Gotham, which structures deals and also produces projects, has a heavy hand in ushering book projects through the Hollywood pipeline, working an extensive publishing client list that includes, among others, Bloomsbury, Penguin, Dark Horse, and Simon & Schuster. Ellie Berger, president of Scholastic trade, added, "Gotham’s extensive connections in the entertainment industry... is sure to result in many exciting extensions of these timeless stories in film and TV.”
