Friday, February 25, 2011

Interview and more foreign deals

(Reposted from my deviantArt blog)

Just a few Legend updates!

I recently did an interview (with the lovely Christine Donatello) for ScienceFiction.com about Legend. Now it's live! You can check it out at the link below:

Interview with ScienceFiction.com

Also, Penguin's foreign rights team has now brought the total of Legend's foreign rights deals up to 6! We recently sold Italian, Greek, and Hebrew rights. This means Legend has sold rights for:

- UK
- Australia/New Zealand
- Italy
- Spain/Catalan
- France
- Germany
- Hebrew

I think those are all the ones, although I might be forgetting one.....

Anyway, have a great weekend, guys!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Squeeing in Times Square

Okay, I've been wondering whether or not I should post this on my blog--because it's just so bizarre and out-there (in a wonderful way) that I almost wanted to keep it to myself for a while. But Agent Kristin has blogged about it already, so I'm giddy to share it here too!

Film Agent Kassie let me know last Friday that news about LEGEND's movie deal hit Times Square! I think it was rotating in the square on last Friday, although I can't be sure. (I'm also not entirely sure who took the photo, but to Ms. PhotoTaker--I send you much love!) It's jarring and shriek-inducing to think that my head was three stories tall in NYC....I hope I wasn't too pixelated. :)

Friday, February 04, 2011

Big news! LEGEND's movie rights have sold!

There are some things that I always dreamt about, like finally being able to get a book deal. THEN there are the things that are so crazy I didn't even know to dream about them:

CBS Films has bought the movie rights to Legend, with Temple Hill's Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen (Twilight Saga, Nativity Story, Dear John) to produce! My amazing book and film agents, Kristin Nelson (NLA) and Kassie Evashevski (UTA) brokered the deal. I love them with the intensity of a thousand suns!!

Deadline's news article about it: "CBS Films Makes Franchise Play With Marie Lu Novel 'Legend'"

And here's CBS Films' press release about it:

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CBS FILMS ACQUIRES MARIE LU’S FORTHCOMING NOVEL
LEGEND

TEMPLE HILL’S MARTY BOWEN AND WYCK GODFREY TO PRODUCE


LOS ANGELES – February 4, 2011 – CBS Films today announced that the company has secured exclusive rights to Marie Lu’s futuristic thriller Legend. Penguin Group has set the first novel in the series for publication in November 2011. Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey (The Twilight Saga, Dear John) will develop and produce.

In a dark future, North America has split into two warring nations. The story follows Day, a young Robin Hood, and June, the teen prodigy hired to hunt him down; together they uncover an impossible truth about their totalitarian leaders. The adventure that follows will become Legend.

“The character of Day, a roguish teen outlaw on the run, has been in my head since high school. One night, I was watching an old time detective movie on TV when the idea of Day vs. the gifted teen June came to me,” said Lu. “I'm beyond thrilled about CBS Films' support for Legend, and the instant I spoke with Temple Hill I could tell that they really got the characters and the story. It couldn't be in better hands. I can't wait to see what they have in store."

Lu has planned the series as a trilogy and will be involved on the scripting phase as an Executive Producer. Temple Hill exec Isaac Klausner brought Legend to the attention of Godfrey and Bowen. Godfrey said, "Marie's book struck me first as a Dickens story by way of Ray Bradbury. It's both gothic epic romance and vivid science fiction. It will make a stunning movie."

“I have known Marty and Wyck for years, and have been eager to bring them to CBS Films. They have proven to have a great instinct for intellectual properties that have both emotional resonance and commercial potential,” commented CBS Films President and CEO, Amy Baer.

“In Legend, Lu has created an expansive world with franchise potential,” added CBS Films COO, Wolfgang Hammer who, in his first deal, moved quickly to pre-empt the book. He continued, “This project is a perfect example of theatrical content with dynamic digital possibilities that CBS Films is now focusing on.”

Senior Vice President of Production Maria Faillace and Creative Executive Ryan Conroy will oversee the project for CBS Films. CBS Films has rights to the entire trilogy as well as any sequels and spinoffs. Lu, Bowen and Godfrey are represented by UTA.

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I'm over the moon with excitement. The Temple Hill guys are incredibly nice and very excited, and I'm beyond thrilled with CBS Films's support. Of course, now I'm just surfing the net giddily looking for photos of actors that could play Day or June. Not my most productive morning....but I'm ok with that. :)

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Legend 2 is done (well, sort of)

Clocking in at just over 81,500 words, Legend 2 is finally done. Well, almost. What I've finished is a first draft, and I already know that there are going to be oodles of rewrites ahead. But I managed to at least finish my first sequel to something--however bad it might currently be. I'll take that as a win. :) Now it's time to clear my brain of LEGEND-ish stuff for a bit, read some other books (DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver came out yesterday, so that's the first one I'm tackling) and soak in some sights other than the white canvas of Word. Woot!

I have some other exciting news to share too, but that will have to wait for the next day or three.... :)