Of late, I have noticed a certain topic coming up on social media. And it boils down to the question at the top of this page.
For those of you new to the series, rest assured: It was attempted and it failed. There’s no one to blame — things just don’t work out sometimes.
I get it, though — if you’ve read the books and you really, really liked them 1 then you’re sitting around going, “WTF, Hollywood? These books are perfect for (as one person wrote to me) ‘a television show or series of blockbuster movies.’ Get on it!”
You want a movie or a TV series. Hell, so do I.
Here’s the deal: There are a ton of books that would make great TV or great movies. A ton of them. Thousands of books are published each year; mere hundreds of movies are made. Not everything that’s worthy will be chosen.
And in general, so far as I can tell, Hollywood decides to make a movie or a TV show from a book based on one of two factors:
- Someone very powerful really loves the book and insists on turning it into a film, or
- The book is a mega-super-duper-bestseller, so Hollywood knows there’s a built-in audience for it, making it a risk worth taking
It’s not just about “It’s really good and would make a great movie!”
As to #1: Well, look, if any of you out there are close personal friends with someone powerful in Hollywood, sure, go ahead and hand that person a copy of I Hunt Killers. Because if Brad Pitt or Reese Witherspoon or Ryan Reynolds or Jennifer Lawrence read and love it, it’ll become a movie. I guarantee it.
But so far, that hasn’t happened.
As to #2: Hey, I know you loved the books, but we need a couple hundred thousand of your friends to love it, too. Or at least to buy it. Don’t get me wrong: I Hunt Killers is without a doubt the most successful book of my career; it even landed at #3 on the bestsellers list! But what makes something a “hit” in publishing doesn’t always measure up to something that will get Hollywood’s attention. As best I can tell, I’d need to sell four or five times more copies of I Hunt Killers to get Hollywood to sit up and take notice. And at this late date, with the book being so old, the odds of hundreds of thousands of readers suddenly discovering it are pretty slim.
The news isn’t all bad, though. There’s still option #1. Rest assured: My agent is always working to put the book in front of the right people, and even though we’ve had no luck thus far…we only have to get lucky once.
The film will definitely not live up to the book. Reading I Hunt Killers “The Series” is already a lived up adventure, no film or graphics needed. Ive walked the streets, Ive seen the bodies, Ive smelt the goriness….Jasper… I know that guy, and his family are my next town neighbours.
My heart rate has significantly increased whilst turning pages, to the point my brain forgets how to breathe.
To bad for hollywood, this will be another book I read to which the film I made in my mind was gripping!
Thanks Barry for the gift of your writting:)
Regards from a fan in Gibraltar (a small piece of British land in the Mediterranean)
Thanks for reading, Benjamin!
I wish people would see the potential this series has for a show or a movie(s). It was without a doubt one of the best I have read, and it had me eagerly turning each page! I can remember waiting for the sequel to come out, because I could barely contain the excitement I felt. After having read the series I recommended my twin sister read it as well, and she couldn’t get enough of the books! Although the “I Hunt Killers” series may never become something for the silverscreen, I will still enjoy reading every suspense-ridden page! And you know what they say, “The book is always better than the movie”!
I would love to see a movie made but at the same time I want it to stay just as a book so that it can keep bieng the perfect jem it is.
I loved I Hunt Killers. I should read the sequel.
Totally agree, although if you can try for a tv show, they last longer and have more room from detail.
I loved your books read it 2 years back, and recently am watching Teenwolf, when it connected, Dylan O’Brian is your Jasper, I can totally see him it, maybe you should send him a copy “wink”
What’s your fan cast?
Well I discovered it suddenly and if they can make shit movies like Indiana Jones they should at least make one I Hunt Killers movie. It’s amazing and I have read it 4 times.