The Callamaro Literary Agency is one of the few independent boutique literary agencies in Los Angeles that specializes in selling books to film and TV. Principal Lisa Callamaro started working for the Elaine Markson Agency in New York, then moved to establish an outpost for Markson in L.A. Two years later, she set up her own agency and now coagents authors with Markson, and other New York literary agencies, as well as representing screenwriters and directors.
As Callamaro looks at the current state of the book-to-film business, she observes that books are still in demand, although the agent has to adapt to new exigencies of the marketplace in order to get deals made. Callamaro thinks that "bestseller thriller writers and certain literary authors who attract high-end talent will always do well. Producers look at the bestseller lists, and many of those titles will get a good shot at a film deal." Few books outside these categories are easy to sell unless the concept is obvious. "
Legally Blonde is a good example as it had such a clear pitch: 'Private Benjamin Goes to Law School,' " Callamaro explained, "so the studio could see the poster right away. Short of that, I am spending more time fostering a project and attaching elements to it. This can include finding a screenwriter or director, or bringing a cofinancier along with the deal. Instead of going out 'wide' to every studio, agents and producers are taking a step back and finding the strongest way to take the material to a financier. Studios are buying less, and I'm making a lot of deals with independent producers, where the prices are not initially equal to a studio deal, but with bonuses, purchase prices and commitment, it evens out in the end."
"Producers used to do all they could to get their hands on manuscripts before they were published," she continued, "but now the competition is not as intense. I used to keep tight controls on manuscripts to stop them getting covered by New York scouts before the studios read them, but now each manuscript or finished book has different needs in terms of the best way to present it. Of course there are books that are still submitted as manuscripts if the story line is an obvious movie, but if it's something that needs more care, it may be best to wait for the reviews, book tour and publicity."
Callamaro sees a current trend in narrative nonfiction, "not the true crime books which sold in the 1980s, but substantial, intellectual material such as
Seabiscuit, Jarhead and Reading Lolita in Tehran. My client
Rachel Simon [shared with Anne Edelstein in New York] has a nonfiction book,
Riding the Bus with My Sister [Houghton Mifflin], which has just been made into a CBS/Hallmark film directed by Anjelica Huston, starring Rosie O'Donnell and Andie McDowell. This book started small, then grew as Houghton Mifflin sent Simon on a major author tour, independent bookstores embraced it, NPR covered it and Rosie O'Donnell featured it on her show."
New books are easier to sell than backlist. "Backlist books all have a similar history," Callamaro said. "They were either passed over by Hollywood when they were published because they came from a small company, or they did not get a good spin in the marketplace; maybe the town was just too busy looking at another book. Also a book may have been optioned, and when that option expires there is renewed interest. Getting backlist books made into movies is a function of passion. A good example is
The Loop by
Joe Coomer [Faber & Faber], which people in Hollywood have been passionate about for years, and I always had offers for it. At first Joe didn't want to sell it, and it took a few different deals to find the right combination of producer, actor and timing. It's currently optioned by producers
Bruce Heller and
David Koplan, who have financing and an A-list actor attached. It's about a safety patrol officer... in Texas who makes it his mission to find the home of a lost parrot."
Callamaro is currently working on two new books close to her heart; the first is Billie Letts's
Shoot the Moon (Warner Books), which is on submission to producers. Letts's
Where the Heart Is was made into a successful Oprah movie with Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd a few years ago. Callamaro is also out with
Steve Kluger's new book
Almost Like Being in Love (HarperPerennial); his Last Days of Summer is under option with producers Mark Platt and Gary Ross at Universal.
The book-to-film business will always be key both in New York and Hollywood, but it goes through phases: sometimes producers and studios are busy opening New York offices, sometimes (as recently) closing them; sometimes they're eager for New York scouts, sometimes not. One thing is certain—books and films have the kind of relationship in which they can't do without each other.
This will be PW's last Screenings column.
