J.K. Rowling to have all “Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them” screenwriting power
A few new details have come to light about Warner Bros. involvement in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie, including the fact that the company can not hire anyone else to rewrite the script, which J.K. Rowling wrote, without her approval. The Hollywood Reporter also affirmed thatHarry Potter producer David Heyman is indeed in talks to take charge of the feature, as he had done with the eight film saga prior.
The deal to make the film was over a year in the making, noted THR, where Warner Bros. studio CEO Kevin Tsujihara personally visited Rowling in her hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland to persuade her to take on the saga.
Quote:
The Rowling deal, more than a year in the making, calls for the author herself to write the screenplay for the first film in a series that will center on Newt Scamander, a Hogwarts alum and author of the go-to textbook Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (which makes several appearances in the existing Potter canon). Tsujihara flew to the U.K. several times since the spring to meet with Rowling, who sparked to his demeanor.
For Rowling, the most important issue was creative control‚ not an easy ask for a first-time screenwriter. Sources say Warners cannot hire someone else to rewrite her script without her approval — a gamble for the studio and a departure from the Potter films, which were written by such seasoned scribes as Steve Kloves and Michael Goldenberg. Rowling also has script approval on subsequent Fantastic Beasts films.
A few new details have come to light about Warner Bros. involvement in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie, including the fact that the company can not hire anyone else to rewrite the script, which J.K. Rowling wrote, without her approval. The Hollywood Reporter also affirmed thatHarry Potter producer David Heyman is indeed in talks to take charge of the feature, as he had done with the eight film saga prior.
The deal to make the film was over a year in the making, noted THR, where Warner Bros. studio CEO Kevin Tsujihara personally visited Rowling in her hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland to persuade her to take on the saga.
Quote:
The Rowling deal, more than a year in the making, calls for the author herself to write the screenplay for the first film in a series that will center on Newt Scamander, a Hogwarts alum and author of the go-to textbook Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (which makes several appearances in the existing Potter canon). Tsujihara flew to the U.K. several times since the spring to meet with Rowling, who sparked to his demeanor.
For Rowling, the most important issue was creative control‚ not an easy ask for a first-time screenwriter. Sources say Warners cannot hire someone else to rewrite her script without her approval — a gamble for the studio and a departure from the Potter films, which were written by such seasoned scribes as Steve Kloves and Michael Goldenberg. Rowling also has script approval on subsequent Fantastic Beasts films.