Literary Agents: On How Hollywood Handles Books

THR executive editor Matt Belloni asks the panel of reps to share their "biggest frustration" with how "Hollywood handles books?" The agents are quick to weigh in about studios wanting to make franchises, change the script and push out material when they disagree. "There is a problem that is very contemporary, which is the studios...feel very driven by tentpole material and franchises. It makes it extraordinarily difficult to take a book that is distinctive and literary and get it the kind of attention it deserves" says Sloan Harris of ICM.