Author Jim Butcher writes a modern fantasy/hard boiled detective series
called the Dresden Files, available in paperback and with the first two
books available on CD read by James Marsters.
He has been approached by some people who are considering making a
weekly TV series based on the Dresden Files. Currently they are
sounding out fans to see if there would be enough interest to support
such a series. Some time next week (the week starting September 21)
there is going to be a meeting with "the suits" to pitch the series.
If you are interested in seeing the Dresden Files as a series please
send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] so that Morgan Gendel, who
is pitching the series, will have some figures to back him up. Please
send that email by Sept. 22, 2003.
Either way, thank you for your time.
--J.K. Brown
(author's plea below)
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Hey guys!
Let's cut straight to the chase: the Dresden Files are on the home
stretch in Hollywood.
In two weeks, Morgan Gendel, together with Nick Cage's production
company, Saturn Films, will be meeting with some heavyweight network
types about the Dresden Files. Morgan is aiming at an hour-long
weekly series, and if the suits like the idea and think it could be a
winner, they'll buy it, and it will be the real deal.
It's more than I ever dreamed or really hoped might happen to my
career,or to the stories I wrote.
But let's give credit where credit is due: you guys, the fans, are
the ones who really made the Dresden Files fly. I know that there
are more than a few people out there who have proselytized the books
with fanatic intensity, rearranged bookstores, casually loaned copies
out to hook a new reader, or otherwise gone out of their way to
spread good words about my work. I do not doubt that there are some
people out there who have spent more time selling other people on my
work than I have writing it. Thank you.
Others have come to the books more recently, through the dulcet
readings of the good Mister Marsters, and James' fans are more than
simply welcome. They've been an enormous boost in terms of sales and
a worried young writer's morale. So also to the more recent Marsters
fans who have helped me out, again, thank you.
That said, I need everyone's help. :)
One of the critical factors in the negotiations over the series will
be the presence (or lack thereof) of a grassroots fanbase for the
series. IE,the suits want to know that SOMEONE is going to want to
watch this show. So I got together with Morgan, and here's the
deal. He's setting up an email address for the sole purpose of
receiving mail from fans in support of the books as a series.
Let me say that in a slightly different way: FANS are going to have
some say over whether or not this show is going to go into
production, as WELL as over who might be approached to be cast in the
series.
How many SciFi fan groups have rallied together in an effort to save
their favorite cancelled show? It worked once, with original Star
Trek. Other efforts were made with equal intensity but lacked
success, and the corpses of shows like B5: Crusade, Farscape, Beauty
and the Beast, Jules Verne,and many, MANY others now lay in the
Hallowed Halls of Syndication or are lost in the Catacombs of
Obscurity.
But I don't think ANY of them had a fan base helping them get STARTED.
This is pretty much a historical first, guys. For people who have
longed to have a voice of any kind in the future of SF television,
here is a place to begin. If you want to see the Dresden Files
launched as a television series, you need to send email to the
address below and SAY SO. If you want a particular actor playing a
particular role (*kaffkaff*MarstersasDresden*kaffkaff*), you also
need to send email to the below address and SAY SO.
A strong fan presence behind the Dresden Files is going to make a
huge difference when everyone bellies up to the negotiating table. I
mean come on, how many producers could show film execs a few thousand
fan emails for a show that hasn't even been CREATED yet. :) What's
more, if that same fan presence has a strong desire to see a
particular actor playing the part, it is going to send a big old
message to the producers, who will treat that desire seriously.
At the end of this email, I'm including a template email that you can
use to send to the fan-support mailbox for the Dresden Files going to
TV. Feel free to write your own should you wish, but I want to
provide the template so that all you will need to do is cut and paste
the template below, filling in your own answers.
I cannot stress enough how perfectly serious I am about this. If
Dresden is to hit the screen, I will need as much support (and as
many emails)as we can possibly get. So don't feel you have to be a
member of a fan club or mailing list to send in your opinion. You
don't. Your opinion counts just as much as everyone else's, and I
urge everyone who loves SF&F television to lend their voice to
Dresden's cause, and to asks other fans of the genre to do the
same. :)
This is beyond exciting, and of course I will keep the list posted as
I get new information. Email template follows.
Jim
TEMPLATE
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To: "Dresden Files E-mail" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Dresden Files Television Series
Dear Morgan,
I am in favor of the production of the Dresden Files to television
and/or movies!
On a scale of one to ten, I would watch the series with the following
frequency. _______ ("1--Eh, whenever" to "10--Each and every week,
possibly in costume.")
Given a choice of actors to play the part of Harry Dresden, I think
that
________________________________ would be an excellent choice.
Sincerely,
(Your name here)
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