School of Fear
Out From Little Brown For Young Readers September 2009
Los Angeles Times November 8, 2007
BOOKIT
By Josh Getlin
The deal
Warner Bros. buys the rights to Gitty Daneshvari's "School of Fear," a four-part fictional series about teenagers learning to face their fears, for Graham King, Oscar-winning producer of "The Departed," "The Aviator" and "Traffic," among other films.
The players
Daneshvari was represented by Creative Artists Agency on the film rights, and by Sarah Burnes, with the Gernert Co., for literary rights. Producers Gail Lyon and Grey Rembert spearheaded the deal for King and Warner Bros. The books will be published by Little, Brown.
The back story
When movie studios buy the rights to literary material, they usually know exactly what they're paying for: a published book with developed characters and a plot, and if they're lucky, good critical buzz. But sometimes filmmakers get wind of a hot property and snap up material that is only the germ of an idea, long before it becomes a book. It's one of those fairy-tale deals that many authors dream of, yet only rarely come true.
Such was the case with Daneshvari, 29, a former CAA assistant and development executive with Contra Films. She came up with the idea for her series several years ago, drawing on her experience as a child grappling with phobias and fears. She had wondered what it would be like if kids were sent to a camp or school to overcome those problems.
"I was hoping it might turn into a series," said Daneshvari, a Los Angeles resident. "But I never dreamed that the deals would come together so quickly." Earlier, as she began writing a proposal, the author gained representation from CAA. She expected to get a book deal first, but then — in Hollywood parlance — the proposal "got out there" ahead of schedule and filmmakers showed interest.
The proposal for "School of Fear" was submitted to several studios on a Monday, and the Warner Bros. deal was finalized two days later. Later that week, Daneshvari hooked up with Burnes and sold foreign literary rights to Germany and France. Days later, she signed a book deal with Little, Brown at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Daneshvari may still be wrestling with some of her childhood anxieties, but she's showing no fear about the series. "When I worked at CAA as an assistant, I always wondered what it would be like being a client," she said. "I'm one of those persons who's seen this business from both sides of the fence, and it's been a real learning experience."
Variety October 11th, 2007
Graham King wins 'School' rights
Producer to adapt novel for Warner Bros.
By DIANE GARRETT
Graham King has won the race to adapt "School of Fear" for Warner Bros. King and fellow Warners producer Donald De Line both wanted to adapt Gitty Daneshvari's book proposal, which CAA sent out a few weeks ago, but King got his dibs in first and the studio made a preemptive bid for him to do the honors.
"School of Fear," skedded to bow from Little, Brown in fall 2009, will center on four pre-teens who are sent to an offbeat summer camp to overcome their debilitating phobias. Writer is a former Contra Films exec.
King is producing under his GK Films shingle along with Grey Rembert and Gail Lyon.
King and De Line both have a slew of projects set up at the studio.
King is producing "Young Victoria" and preparing "Shantaram" to be in production ahead of a possible strike; both fall under his GK Films banner. He's also developing a series of movies under the Initial Entertainment Group banner.
De Line is producing Ridley Scott's "Body of Lies," now shooting, and is juggling several other pics ahead of a potential strike. Last week, he set up "Shining City," a comic Seth Greenland novel, at the studio.
