script completed for the Harry Potter spin-off

[alansplace]

Author JK Rowling says she's completed the draft script for the Harry Potter spin-off film Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them in just 12 days.

link to article

[Jessica Lares]

Then again, the book is pretty short to begin with.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Then again, the book is pretty short to begin with.

The book itself isn't being adapted.
Rather the new movie trilogy is set in the 1920's and deals with the adventures of the eccentric young wizard who compiled the book. A contemporary of Dumbledore.

She likely only took a couple weeks because she already had a synopsis for the trilogy from her discussions with WB over the series and because movies are the filmed equivalents of short stories or maybe novellas. Plus, being set in the Potter-verse, she has the backstory fully laid out. That's the advantage of sequels and spinoffs; the writer already has known settings and story parameters so the only concern is the plot and playing out the story.

Plus, for movie scripts, first drafts don't necessarily include all the details in a finished script. Before the script is finalized it will at a minimum need input from the director to see if it fits his vision of the movie, from the SFX director to assess viability and cost of the creatures and effects, and the producers to see how it all fits within the projected budget.

The ball has barely started rolling. Most movies get stalled at this stage, though this one is a near certainty to get made; too much money at stake for "creative differences" to stop it. It may run through multiple directors, producers, and budgets, and the final script may bear no resemblance to the original synopsis but by Jove there will be a movie made with that title.

Hollywood really resides in a different universe. For example, in Hollywood no movie ever reports a profit.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Hollywood really resides in a different universe. For example, in Hollywood no movie ever reports a profit.

Which is why Alex Guiness's deal of 0.4% of the gross takings for Star Wars was such a good deal. It made him wealthy enough that he could "live for the rest of my life in the reasonably modest way I am now used to, that I have no debts and I can afford to refuse work that doesn't appeal to me."

While 0.4% of the net takings would have been worthless...

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Which is why Alex Guiness's deal of 0.4% of the gross takings for Star Wars was such a good deal. It made him wealthy enough that he could "live for the rest of my life in the reasonably modest way I am now used to, that I have no debts and I can afford to refuse work that doesn't appeal to me."

While 0.4% of the net takings would have been worthless...

Smart.
Even smarter, Lucas retained ownership of the IP, including merchandising rights.
That was the last time any studio gave up merchandising rights.
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/art...a-billionaire/

Even Rowling only got (limited?) veto power over the amount and type of Potter movie merchandise.

Most studio movies are effectively work-for-hire and the studio generally owns the IP for both remakes, sequels, and derivatives but Lucas retained them and built an Empire off that smart move. He got most of the benefits of going indie before Indie movies were common.

In total, the Star Wars empire has sold $4 billion worth of DVDs and VHS, $3 billion worth of video games, $2 billion worth of books and another $1.3 billion through various other licensing deals. That brings the grand grand revenue total after 35 years worth of Star Wars licensing to $27 billion. After expenses, taxes, fees etc… George Lucas had earned himself an impressive $3.3 billion net worth by 2012. Then, Disney came calling and gave him another $4 billion to purchase the entire franchise outright. The moral of the story? Without retaining these rights, Lucas would have done very well but his earnings would have been a tiny fraction of what they became. This windfall would not have been remotely possible if it wasn't for that single brilliant decision made back in 1973. George Lucas essentially traded $350,000 for more than $7 billion. That might be the smartest business decision of all time! So the lesson here is, if you believe in your idea, don't give up your rights easily!

[Apache]

Sandra Bulloch also was smart in her negotiations for her role in Gravity.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...make-70-683561
$70+ million dollars is nothing to sneeze at.
Apache