Word around town (that’s L.A. to everybody who isn’t “in” that particular town) is that CBS Studios has optioned Michael Koryta’s novel about private investigator Lincoln Perry,A Welcome Grave for a TV series to be produced by the Kennedy/Marshall Company.
We find this report refreshing because, taken on its face, it means that Kennedy/Marshall thinks this should be a series and convinced CBS to put up some money for them to develop it. Because they wouldn’t dream of using their own money…because if it’s at all possible production companies never do. They always pass the hat to a network.
So kudos to Michael Koryta for getting some money in his pocket, and kudos to the P.R. people who’ve announced this deal for telling us the truth for once.
Film and TGV options have long been added income for writers and their publishers, to be sure. But considering how few of the options actually get picked up as full-scale rights purchases, and how few of those actually get made into films or TV series, we’re curious about whether anybody has ever, like, made a living on through option money. Anybody out there know?