Hollywood's 25 Most Powerful Authors
10:00 AM PST 11/28/2012 by THR Staff
"I don't expect anything to be like 'Twilight' again," says Stephenie Meyer, who joins J.K Rowling, E.L. James and Suzanne Collins on the list of writers who have the industry hanging on their every word.
This story first appeared in the Dec. 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
When THR contacted James Patterson about being on its inaugural list of the 25 most powerful authors in Hollywood, he scoffed. "Power list? More like powerless list"
But while conventional wisdom puts writers far down the totem pole, the truth is that from The Hunger Games to the upcoming The Hobbit, books remain the most durable source of content for films and TV.
Indeed, whether it was the jaw-dropping $687 million worldwide take of Suzanne Collins’ (No. 5) Games or the bidding frenzy over EL James’ (No. 4) Fifty Shades of Grey, authors were behind some of 2012’s biggest stories.
THR selected those living authors who have been most successful in shepherding their books from page to screen, balancing success in publishing (total output, sales, best-sellers) and in Hollywood (completed adaptations, projects in development, screenwriting and producing credits) while accounting for cultural influence. More power to them.
Written by Tim Appelo, Marc Bernardin, Lesley Goldberg, Borys Kit, Andy Lewis, Daniel Miller, Philiana Ng, Kimberly Nordyke, Sophie Schillaci and Tatiana Siegel
Pictured: Gillian Flynn, left, and Reese Witherspoon
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1. Stephen King Known For: "The Shining," "The Stand," "The Shawshank Redemption." Bi...read more
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2. Elmore Leonard Known For: "Justified," "Get Shorty." Big Number: His books have been...read more
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3. Nicholas Sparks Known For: "The Notebook." Big Number: All 16 of his novels have made...read more
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4. EL James Known For: "Fifty Shades of Grey." Big Number: 40 million copies sold...read more
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5. Suzanne Collins Known For: "The Hunger Games." Big Number: "Games" is the best-sellin...read more
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6. Robert Kirkman Known For: "The Walking Dead." Big Number: In March, he had four of t...read more
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7. George R.R. Martin Known For: "Game of Thrones." Big Number: HBO’s "Thrones" averaged ...read more
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8. James Patterson Known For: "Kiss the Girls." Big Number: 53 No. 1 New York Times best...read more
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9. Michael Lewis Known For: "Moneyball." Big Number: Both films based on his works hav...read more
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10. Stephenie Meyer Known For: "The Twilight Saga." Big Number: More than 63 million copi...read more
