Macmillan Inks Movie/TV Rights Pact With RWSH

By Rachel Deahl -- Publishers Weekly, 10/7/2008 2:16:00 PM

In another move by a publisher to exploit the book-to-film connection, Macmillan has inked a partnership with the L.A.-based literary agency RWSH. The move, which allows RWSH to exclusively sell film and TV rights to unagented titles on Macmillan's list, follows on the heels of a number of publisher-driven attempts to exploit intellectual property more skillfully (and lucratively) in Hollywood. 

While Random House and HarperCollins have both hooked up more directly with moviemakers--Random established Random House Films to co-finance literary adaptations directly with Focus Features while HarperCollins has a partnership with indie producer Jeff Sharp through its Sharp Independent at HarperCollins--the Macmillan deal is most similar to Simon & Schuster Children's recent pact with The Gotham Group. Through the S&S-Gotham partnership the L.A. talent agency will look to set up projects based, also, on un-agented titles on the publisher's list. (The S&S-Gotham partnership will, however, see Gotham setting up certain projects of its own with the publisher.)

Through this deal, which a spokesperson at Macmillan said has been percolating for nearly a year, RWSH agents and Macmillan employees will work together to identify the best projects for potential film or television adaptation. And, while a majority of the titles in play are backlist, the spokesperson confirmed that some of the house's frontlist titles have also been signed un-agented.

Speaking to the deal Brian Napack, president of Macmillan, said it "brings to us, and by extension our authors a world class team in Hollywood" to make movie deals. Sylive Rabineau and Liza Wahcter, principles at RWSH, added that the agency will work to "fashion the best possible media deals, at just the right homes, for each particular project."