
Ask HN: I Want to Make “The Chronicles of Amber” into a TV Series. How? - sly_g
I am a journalist. I write articles about gadgets, web, science, technology, space, and the like. And I love to read fiction books. My favorite book is the &quot;The Chronicles of Amber&quot; by Roger Zelazny. It&#x27;s a magnum opus of 10 volumes about life and adventures of a supernatural mythical family. And for a long time I had a dream – to make this book into a movie.<p>And at some point I realized, that it should not be a movie, but a TV series! They are becoming more intense and complex, and attract a big audience. There is even a very popular series based on the famous multi-volume fantasy saga. Yeah, that one. When I realized this, I quickly wrote the screenplay for a pilot episode. I think that it came out quite good. I&#x27;ve registered it with the Writers Guild of America, and can send it to anybody who can help me.<p>Next I found the agency and discussed this subject with them. The agency took its time to figure out who I am and what do I have. Finally, they told me that at the moment someone allegedly bought an option for a screen version of the book. But, reading between the lines, I realized that they just do not want to work with an unknown person. So I began to think about what to do next.<p>I found out that the book was turned into an audiobooks by TV actors Alessandro Juliani (&quot;Battlestar Galactica&quot;, &quot;The 100&quot;) and Wil Wheaton (&quot;Star Trek: The Next Generation&quot;, &quot;Eureka&quot;). I found their managers&#x27; contacts and exchanged letters with them to find out if they are interested in supporting the film adaptation.<p>One of the managers was kind enough to explain to me, that his client is not engaged in producing activities, so, basically, when I&#x27;ll have the rights and the financing for the project, they will be happy to listen to my proposal.<p>I&#x27;ve created a blog at https:&#x2F;&#x2F;9amber.wordpress.com&#x2F; with additional information about this problem in a blogpost (I had to cut this message at HN down to 2000 symbols), and a contact page. So feel free to contact me.
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itbeho
I too am a huge fan of the Amber series. I don't think Zelazny's estate has
managed that asset very well though. See the Bettencourt novels and the
controversy relating to their publication as an example. Or how rarely one
will find Zelazny's works on the shelf at most brick and mortar bookstores
compared to his contemporaries.

I wish you well in your quest! I'd love to see this series get a second life.

~~~
Turing_Machine
+1 on "not managing the asset well". Other than the Bettencourt books, they
aren't even on Kindle, which is basically leaving free money on the table.

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Alex_Notchenko
If in some stage you'll want to create some kind of PoC, consider making a
radio-play and some visual story boards, they relatively low in production
costs, but can deliver a feeling that one will have experiencing end product,
or can be a good medium in itself. Good luck with your endeavour.

~~~
sly_g
Interesting – I was thinking about the storyboard myself. Since I'm no visual
artist at all, maybe I could find such a person, who can help me visualize
this story. Thanks for your answer.

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joeld42
"I quickly wrote the screenplay for a pilot episode. I think that it came out
quite good"

Not trying to be a jerk here, but unless you're a seasoned tv writer (and if
you were, you wouldn't be asking this), it's pretty unlikely that something
you dashed off quickly turned out that well. Maybe it is good, but to get
produced it needs to be great. Have you read the Game of Thrones pilot script?
That was pretty good, and without an option or a name writer attached it has
to be better than that.

Also, you did this in the wrong order. You get the option first, then you
write the pilot, unless it's a pure spec not intended to be produced, e.g.
written just as a writing sample to get a staff job.

Almost every writer and showrunner in hollywood has a "passion project" like
this that they would love to get made one day. And just as often, they can't
do it even with a few shows under their belt and tons of connections.

Not sure why you're asking this on a startup news site. If you want, put on
your flame-resistant armour and ask this again at in the forums at
donedealpro.com. Post some sample pages there for critique. You'll get a lot
of flak, and there's a lot of trolls on there, but you'll also get some good
advice from people working in the industry.

All of that said, I hope you prove me wrong. You're right about one thing, it
is a great series and would be a perfect fit for TV (well, except for budget,
some of those settings would be unfilmable due to expense).

If you want, email me 5-10 pages from your pilot and I'll be happy to give you
honest, constructive notes.

~~~
sly_g
Actually I've tried to buy an option first, before writing the script. And
after I was denied, I decided to write it and try to find and convince
somebody with an influence in the area to help me buy this option. I'm sure
that the option is available, they just don't want to sell it to somebody they
don't know. And I thought that it would be easier to convince somebody, if I
have something to show to them. I've asked this here because by my observation
there's a lot of different smart people here with totally different areas of
expertise, and even if someone wouldn't help me right away, he can tell me in
which direction I can look. Like you just did, pointing me to the
donedealpro.com It's very nice of you to offer your time to review my work,
and I'll send it to you right away. Thank you for the answer.

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saturdayplace
> Finally, they told me that at the moment someone allegedly bought an option
> for a screen version of the book. But, reading between the lines, I realized
> that they just do not want to work with an unknown person.

Maybe they were just trying to blow you off, but if someone else already owns
the option on the original material you're stopped before you even get
started. You're definitely welcome to have written your screenplay adaptation,
but until you get the TV rights to the original material from whoever owns
them, you don't really have a legal leg to stand on for making a commercial
adaptation. If I were you, I'd try to track down who owns the rights, and see
if you can't sell them your adaptation. Or try and negotiate purchasing the
rights.

~~~
sly_g
Yes, I understand that if someone owns the option, that's it. At least, until
they fail to produce the show in time and option will close. And after they
told me that option was sold to someone, I've asked the agency to provide me
with the buyer's contacts, or even give my contacts to the buyer so he could
contact me. The facts that not only they didn't tell me that option was
already sold right away, but they also denied my request to help me to contact
the buyer, made me think that actually they didn't sell anything.

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taprun
You're in a tough spot. The more interest that you build in the series, the
more likely that someone with more money and better connections will decide to
take your idea and run with it. Further, it's not like you can simply start
creating derivative works to demonstrate your abilities - you might get sued
out of existence.

I'd suggest creating a website that talks about your plans, how you would
approach the TV show making process. What are the types of things that you
would do, what are some plot lines, how would you show the story's "card
mechanic" visually? Build a community so that there is fan devotion not just
to the idea, but to you and your implementation of it.

~~~
sly_g
That is a good advice, and I was thinking roughly in that direction myself.
I'll try to make it work, thanks.

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classicsnoot
I am a indy film producer in the DC area. I have produced a web series, 2
short films, and a handful of music videos. What you are looking for is much
bigger than what i am capable of giving you. Regardless, I'd love to help in
any way i can. We are currently seeking funding for 1 feature whilst trying to
pitch 2 TV shows.

email me @ the address on my profile.

~~~
sly_g
Done, the mail is sent.

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BrianHutch
I've had the same dream for many years. Please, whoever does it, don't mess it
up.

