Good afternoon: In the first ever edition of the IP Scout, we will cover:
Hot properties: spotlights the week’s authors whose work is being adapted by major studios/production companies, and who have other novels with strong screen potential.
Bestsellers: the top books from the NY Times and Amazon bestseller lists that are ripe for Film/TV.
Internet hot properties. With the recent success of A24’s Backrooms and properties such as Siren Head and Cartoon Cat selling to Warner Bros and Sony, internet fables are the fastest-growing IP trend. Here we highlight one of the most intriguing.
Hidden Gem: a spotlight on an unknown book that could make for a phenomenal film.
HOT PROPERTIES
Book 1: Tim Winton’s Eyrie
Film: Psychological Drama, Climate Thriller
Synopsis:
Tom Keely is a man struggling to accomplish good in an utterly fallen world. Once an ambitious, altruistic environmentalist, Keely now finds himself broke, embroiled in scandal, and struggling to piece together some semblance of a life. From the heights of his urban high-rise apartment, he surveys the wreckage of his life and the world he’s tumbled out of love with. Just before he descends completely into pills and sorrow, a woman from his past and her preternatural grandson appear, perched on the edge of disaster, desperate for help.
A character-driven look at a man who dedicated his life to fighting a righteous battle, and has failed. The anxiety-inducing landscape of climate-ravaged summertime Australia could be pushed into surrealist territory - the environment around the protagonist becoming a threat to them - in the same vein as Synecdoche, New York or Beau is Afraid. However, a more subtle, gentle portrait of Keely as a character would contrast well with the harsh setting of the novel. In this instance, filmmaker Kitty Green would be perfect. Her ability to capture the unease of a landscape is shown in The Royal Hotel, and her grasp of a character’s inner turmoil is proven in The Assistant.
WHY IT’S HOT: Another Winton novel, the science-fiction Juice, is currently being developed into a feature film by Working Title, with Joe Wright (Darkest Hour, Atonement) directing.
Book 2: Harlan Coben’s Six Years
Film: Mystery, Thriller, Romance
Synopsis:
Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd.
But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for… but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for almost two decades, and with that fact, everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life - a time he has never gotten over - is turned completely inside out.
One of Coben’s few standalone novels that has not yet received an adaptation, Six Years would be perfect for a mystery thriller feature, and could develop in a variety of ways; a classic unraveling mystery approach like The Girl on the Train or something narratively daring like Memento.
The novel was under option with Hugh Jackman back in 2015, who would have no doubt played the role of Fisher. Imagining this type of actor in the role, Colin Farrell would make an excellent choice, easily playing a broken, rugged man and rediscovering the mystery genre he played so well in True Detective. Another interesting choice would be Domhnall Gleeson (The Paper, Bucking Fastard); his mind-reeling performance in Ex Machina as a man losing his mind when his reality is questioned would lend itself well to Fisher.
WHY IT’S HOT: Netflix has just announced an upcoming series, Myron Bolitar with David E. Kelley (Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Presumed Innocent) writing and producing. Based on the Coben book series of the same name, this shows his older work is still very much attracting interest.
Book 3: John Langan’s House of Windows
Series: Gothic Horror, Thriller, Psychological
Synopsis:
For the last few years, Veronica Croydon has been at the center of scandal, first as the younger woman for whom her famous professor left his wife, and then as the apparent widow of that man. When a writer staying at the same vacation home as Veronica has the chance to hear her story, he jumps at it. What follows takes him to the dark heart of a father’s troubled relationship with his only son, in a story that stretches from the height of Victorian England to post-9/11 America. It is a story that leads inexorably to the looming Belvedere House, the home Veronica shared with her husband, within whose walls a father’s terrible words to his son echo and gain in awful force.
This unique haunted house novel would be perfectly adapted to a series with its era-spanning premise. The gothic tale with a thematic likeness to Lovecraft and Dickens brings to mind the work of Mike Flanagan (Amazon’s Carrie, The Haunting of Hill House) - this series could potentially forge a similar path for a horror director to try their hand at showrunning, such as Nia DaCosta (28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Candyman).
WHY IT’S HOT: Langan’s novel The Fisherman, has just been picked up by director David Lowery (The Green Knight) alongside Focus Features to be adapted into a film, with Michael Bay and his company Platinum Dunes.
Book 4: TJ Klune’s Under the Whispering Door
Series: Adult Animated, Contemporary Fantasy, Romance
Synopsis:
When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead. And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead. But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.
Under the Whispering Door could be a great adult animation. Many animated shows for adults go the crass, violent route to distance themselves from a perceived “childish” medium (Rick and Morty, Family Guy) - this series could offer a surreal, whimsical show for adults to explore their own thoughts about life and death, similarly to Netflix’s The Midnight Gospel or a grown-up version of Cartoon Network’s Over the Garden Wall.
Plus, this shares a similar story outline to A Christmas Carol, the most recent adaptation of which is Paramount’s Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, releasing this November.
WHY IT’S HOT: TJ Klune’s heartfelt fantasy The House in the Cerulean Sea is being adapted into an animated series by Warner Bros. Animation.
Book 5: Lucy Clarke’s Swimming at Night
Series: Family Drama, Mystery Thriller
Synopsis:
Katie’s world is shattered by the news that her headstrong and bohemian younger sister, Mia, has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff in Bali. The authorities say that Mia jumped - that her death was a suicide.
Although they’d hardly spoken to each other since Mia suddenly left on an around-the-world trip six months earlier, Katie refuses to accept that her sister would have taken her own life. Distraught that they never made peace, Katie leaves her orderly, sheltered life in London behind and embarks on a journey, country by country.
It sounds like the perfect mystery series, but the budget of hopping from country to country would price out many smaller production companies, and dissuade bigger studios from taking the risk. However, by starting the series in London (a UK production company can take advantage of the business tax relief), then refocusing to one location, getting the character of Katie to hunt for clues in one exotic paradise that stole her sister’s heart, things become more doable - especially when taking into account tax incentives of certain territories.
The Canary Islands: although Spain’s tax rebate for productions is around 30%, it shoots up to 45% - 50% when shooting in the Canary Islands.
Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma - the list of great locations goes on.
https://www.ep.com/production-incentives/europe/canaryislands/Mauritius: the tropical island offers 30 - 40% tax rebate
https://www.ep.com/production-incentives/africa-and-middle-east/mauritius/Fiji: starting the series in Wellington, NZ rather than London would be a smart swap for Oceanic production companies, who can then shoot in Fiji and make the most of the 20% tax rebate.
https://www.ep.com/production-incentives/oceania/fiji/
WHY IT’S HOT: Clarke specializes in “destination thrillers.” Her novel The Surf House, which is set in a travelers’ sanctuary in Morocco, has been picked up recently by Netflix. Ed Lilly (Industry, Tell Me Lies) is showrunning.
BESTSELLERS
Book 6: Ann Patchett’s Whistler
Film: Indie father-child relationship drama
(6 weeks on NYT bestseller list)
Synopsis:
When Daphne Fuller and her husband Jonathan visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they notice an older, white-haired gentleman following them. The man turns out to be Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, who had been married to her mother for a little more than a year when Daphne was nine. Now fifty-three, Daphne hasn’t seen Eddie for many years, not since the fateful event that changed the direction of both their lives. Meeting again, time falls away; while their relationship was brief, it had a profound impact on them both, and now that they are reunited, they have no intention of ever being separated again.
Described as “beautiful in its simplicity,” Whistler would make a wonderful indie film (swapping out the Met Museum for a more cost-effective location).
The simple yet full-of-meaning style is reminiscent of a handful of indies that nail the complex father-child relationship - and, just like those, the emotional core of this film will be dependent on the strength of the cast:
Nebraska - Alexander Payne, 2013 (Will Forte and Bruce Dern)
Somewhere - Sofia Coppola, 2010 (Elle Fanning and Stephen Dorff)
On the Rocks - Sofia Coppola, 2020 (Rashida Jones and Bill Murray)
As in the novel, the film would need to split its time between two distinct periods in the characters’ lives - which means a double cast. Assuming that the film will spend more time in the present day, those actors will be cast first, then we will work backward.
For present-day Eddie, an actor needs to exude warmth and familial longing, but also have emotional complexity. Alfred Molina (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Remarkably Bright Creatures) would be a great fit - lovable, but serious. Middle-aged Eddie could be played well by John Magaro (The Mastermind, Past Lives), who also imbues these qualities.
It may be a stretch for an indie, but Daphne would be perfectly portrayed by Kate Winslet, with Nell Fisher (Stranger Things, Evil Dead Rise) playing her childhood self. Another talented actor for the role would be Ruth Negga (Preacher), whose ability to play complex characters was proven in Netflix’s Passing.
Book 7: Allen Levi’s Theo of Golden
Film: Character Study, Heartwarming, Inspirational
(#1 on Amazon and NYT bestseller list)
Synopsis:
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from… or why… His name is Theo. And he asks a lot more questions than he answers.
Theo visits the local coffeehouse, where ninety-two pencil portraits hang on the walls, portraits of the people of Golden done by a local artist. He begins purchasing them, one at a time, and putting them back in the hands of their “rightful owners.” With each exchange, a story is told, a friendship born, and a life altered.
Spending 31 weeks on the NYT bestseller list, it has been described as a word-of-mouth smash hit. This could make a great quirky character-study film like Tim Burton’s Big Fish, or a series with one drawing or character per episode format.
Book 8: Jenny Jackson’s The Shampoo Effect
Series: Raunchy Drama, Rom-Com
(#10 on NYT bestseller list - new this week)
Synopsis:
When writer Caroline Lash arrives in Greenhead, she falls immediately for its scenic beaches and New England charm – and even harder for Van Whittaker, a gorgeous, fleece-wearing, litter-collecting, kayak enthusiast.
She meets his friends: Augusta, old money and uptight; Fran, drowning in everyone else’s problems whilst keeping two kids (and an inebriated husband) afloat; and Bailey, who is sexy, confident… and inconveniently pregnant with Van’s child.
Determined nothing will dull the shine of her new romance, Caroline joins the friends as they run wild through Greenhead, drinking on houseboats, gossiping on beaches while their children paddle, and playing risky games.
It seems the fun will last forever – until it doesn’t.
A potential series here would need to strike a balance: the self-aware study of the complexities of modern life and relationships seen in many current series (Apple TV’s Shrinking, Netflix’s The Four Seasons) with the drama-fueled fun of a more bohemian Desperate Housewives. Feel-good watching that understands modern relationships. Not an easy feat, but if accomplished it could be a comfort watch that audiences can still relate to.
INTERNET PROPERTIES
Property 9: 11 Miles
Film: Horror
Originating on Reddit forums like r/nosleep, this urban myth takes the form of a ritual.
Synopsis (pulled from Creepypasta Wiki):
If you complete this challenge, you will find exactly what you seek. But if you attempt this challenge and fail, I cannot say with certainty what will become of you. Do you have something that you truly, relentlessly desire?
The challenger is tasked with going on a nighttime drive. They will see signs of the things they desire - if it is wealth, they will see shimmers of gold in the trees lining the road. This shows the challenge has started. After that, they must drive 11 miles, battling the horrors that emerge both outside and inside their vehicle.
In 2023, Shudder released Elevator Game, which was similarly based on an online ritual. With the recent success of A24’s Backrooms proving audiences’ interest in surreal internet-culture horrors, this property could attract smaller and larger production companies alike - especially as the story can be adapted to all budgets.
The key to its success will be using the confined location of the car to its advantage - much like Locke (2013), which spends its entire runtime in a car with Tom Hardy. Or, for a more horrific comparison, Buried (2010), which sees Ryan Reynolds attempting to escape a coffin 6ft under the earth.
An incredibly talented, charismatic lead - like Hardy and Reynolds - will need to carry the film. The beauty here is the protagonist can be anyone, as long as they have a burning desire. Julia Garner (Inventing Anna) would be my choice - her well-meaning but boundary-stepping alcoholic teacher in Weapons makes her horror’s current queen of complex characters.
HIDDEN GEM
Book 10: Nadia Mikail’s The Cats We Meet Along the Way
Film: Family-Friendly Animation, Road Trip, World Catastrophe
Synopsis:
Charting Aisha and her family on a road trip through the country in search of her estranged sister, June. Set against the backdrop of a world catastrophe, this novel is full of love, healing and hope. Seventeen-year-old Aisha hasn’t seen her sister June for two years. And now that a calamity is about to end the world in nine months’ time, she and her mother decide that it’s time to track her down and mend the hurts of the past. Along with Aisha’s boyfriend, Walter, and his parents (and Fleabag the stray cat), the group takes a road trip through Malaysia in a wildly decorated campervan - to put the past to rest, to come to terms with the present, and to hope for the future.
This book is truly exciting. A blend of Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and The Mitchells vs. The Machines, it would make an excellent family-friendly feature that introduces young people to adult emotional themes - much in the way that Pixar favorites have done before (Soul, Inside Out). This story would be a fabulous choice for Pixar, but I can also see this being just right for LAIKA (Coraline, ParaNorman). A LAIKA production would capture the Malaysian countryside in all its intricacy, as Kubo and the Two Strings did with feudal Japan.
See you next week!
Written by Molly Wise.
For consulting and/or advertising opportunities email clarke.scott@theindustry.co