'City on Fire' Novel Lands Film Deal Before Book Deal

Garth Risk Hallberg's novel, City on Fire, has been snatched for a film deal before even having a publishing deal.

Last week, The Hollywood Reporter announced that producer Scott Rudin has snagged the rights to the novel. Allegedly, Rudin read the book overnight and then decided to fund it as a film.

Since Rudin claimed film rights, many publishers are now thinking of offering a book deal. According to the article, "Several publishers are considering the book now, with sources telling THR that Hallberg could score a deal by early next week. It’s in the rare position of being on a film path before a printing path."

The novel is set in 1977 New York City right before the great summer blackout that happened in July that year. The story follows an ensemble cast of characters, consisting of a journalist, a police detective and a heroin addict. According to THR, City on Fire "covers walks of life ranging from punk rock, high finance and art to topics such as the making of fireworks, urban blight and adultery. It’s described by those who have read it as very literary, as capturing the city at a pivotal point in its history, with resonance to America’s current moment in time."

Hallberg's stories and essays have appeared in several literary reviews and magazines, including Best New American Voices, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, Slate and Canteen. He is the contributing editor for The Millions, an online magazine, and teaches at Sarah Lawrence College. In addition, he is a 2008 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Fiction and a two-time finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s Balakian award for excellence in book reviewing.

Rudin has worked as a producer on dozens of films, with a particular fancy for hopping on board book-turned-movie projects. To name a few films, he has a producer credit on Captain Phillips, Moonrise Kingdom, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network, Julia & Julia, and No Country For Old Men.

Another recent yet more unusual book deal involves a 15-year old girl. She took a 1950s advice guide and wrote a diary as she followed the instructions for popularity. Check out the ScreenCraft post, DreamWorks Buys 8th Grader's Journal.