Borders Hopes for 8th Day Film Deal
By Rachel Deahl -- Publishers Weekly, 7/15/2008 12:48:00 PM
After a year in the proprietary publishing business, Borders is looking to get more involved in a potential film adaptation with its forthcoming title The 8th Day,.
The upcoming book, a thriller by Tom Avitable about a high-ranking government scientist investigating a bio-terrorism plot, is due out in late August; it will be published exclusively by Borders's State Street Press imprint. After the success the retailer saw with its first trade title, Slip and Fall, which broke onto bestseller lists, the chain has acquired the film rights to 8th Day in hopes of making a lucrative deal in Hollywood.
Variety reported earlier this month on the unexpected acquisition, pondering whether this was a roundabout way for the chain to break into Hollywood; that piece noted that a spokesperson from the chain said Borders would take “a producing role” in any potential movie.
In a statement sent to PW by Borders corporate affairs manager Mary Davis, the details about the deal are clarified further, although not fully explained. In the statement, The 8th Day is described as "an exceptional novel with potential to be a big hit" both in print and in theaters. Although the statement says Borders "is not financing the film," it is hoping, by acquiring film rights, "to help make the film project a reality" through its promotion of the novel.
When asked who would potentially shop the book's film rights--Borders acquired them, along with print, from Donald Maass of the Donald Maass Agency--Davis said CEO George Jones and executive v-p of merchandising and marketing Rob Gruen "are managing the film rights." (Jones and Gruen both have backgrounds in retailing; Jones previously ran Warner Brothers studio stores, and Gruen worked at Target and at Warner Brothers.) The statement added that even with the potential film sale, Borders will continue to focus on its core book business and in executing its cash flow and expense reduction initiatives.
