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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11. J.K. Rowling Known For: "Harry Potter." Big Number: Translated into 73 languages, ...read more
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12. Tom Clancy Known For: "The Hunt for Red October." Big Number: The four Jack Ryan...read more
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13. Dennis Lehane Known For: "Mystic River." Big Number: The six-time New York Times be...read more
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14. Charlaine Harris Known For: "Sookie Stackhouse" novels, source of "True Blood." Big Nu...read more
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15. Daniel H. Wilson Known For: "Robopocalypse" (film not yet released). Big Number: Two o...read more
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16. Ken Follett Known For: "The Pillars of the Earth." Big Number: His works have sol...read more
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17. Cormac McCarthy Known For: "No Country for Old Men," "All the Pretty Horses." Big Num...read more
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18. Seth Grahame-Smith Known For: "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter." Big Number: His work ha...read more
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19. Laura Hillenbrand Known For: "Seabiscuit." Big Number: "Unbroken" (2010) has spent 103 ...read more
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20. Jeff Kinney Known For: "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." Big Number: 60 million copies sold.read more
