![]() It’s great material,” said Parent, who beat out several competitors for the rights.īut as potent as the Ludlum brand may be, Weiner is determined not to flood the market. ![]() “Hopefully, it’s another triple-A franchise. ![]() When the screenwriters were attached, sponsors approached studios. ![]() ICM’s Smith presented the new material to Washington, Wechsler said, and “Denzel met with everybody, he grilled everybody on the pitch,” before signing on. Only then could Weiner begin working with Wechsler and Di Bonaventura (“Transformers”) on a pitch updating Ludlum’s action-packed novel. Indeed, Wechsler (“We Own the Night”) approached Weiner three years ago about adapting “The Matarese Circle.” Before it could proceed, however, the estate had to track down and reacquire the rights from a firm that went bankrupt. But the story of how the package was assembled - and the strategy of the Ludlum estate in approving book-to-film deals - is also noteworthy. When MGM recently paid $3 million for the rights to Ludlum’s Cold War thriller, it was widely seen as a bid by Mary Parent, the studio’s new head, to develop a franchise rivaling Ludlum’s Bourne movies. Ludlum’s estate is represented by literary agent Henry Morrison and on film rights by ICM’s Ben Smith. ![]() MGM and Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Media co-financing the film Denzel Washington attached to star Nick Wechsler, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Jeffrey Weiner - chief executive of Ludlum Entertainment - producing Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (“3:10 to Yuma”) writing the script. ![]()
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