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Exclusive: Janet Evanovich, one of the biggest selling authors in the world with 200 million copies in print and 25 No. 1 New York Times bestsellers, has signed with The Story Factory for exclusive representation. Her son, Peter Evanovich (The Big Kahuna) and daughter Alex Evanovich (Troublemaker) have made the move too. Evanovich was previously repped by Wme.

Led by Shane Salerno, The Story Factory will rep the entire Evanovich literary portfolio and look to expand its publishing universe around the world, and ramp up film and TV adaptations. One effort will be to build a co-author program to create new properties and franchise book series. She makes the move as her latest book, Look Alive Twenty-Five, which debuted atop the Nyt hardcover bestseller list, this month topped the Publishers Weekly mass market paperback bestseller list. Her 26th Stephanie Plum novel, Twisted Twenty-Six, will be released November 12. The 27th Plum novel — which Evanovich...

Exclusive: Akiva Goldsman has signed on to write and produce the film adaptations of author Marcus Sakey’s bestselling Brilliance trilogy.

Goldsman will write the adaptations and produce the films with Shane Salerno and The Story Factory. The producers will shop the book series, which has sold two million copies worldwide.

Goldsman won his Oscar for A Beautiful Mind and his script work ranges from I Am Legend to The Da Vinci Code, and most recently the Stephen King The Shining continuation Doctor Sleep as well as producing an adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse as a potential star vehicle for Michael B. Jordan.

The Brilliance trilogy is set in a future world where “brilliants” — the rare 1% born gifted with superior mental abilities — are carefully tracked by the government. Federal agent Nick Cooper, himself a “brilliant,’ is tasked with using his own gifts to infiltrate a radical group and...

Lawrence Kasdan is pushing the Star Wars franchise off to the side for a new film project called November Road that he will write and direct. The film is based on on an upcoming novel from Edgar Award-winning author Lou Berney and the story revolves around the period of the JFK assassination. Here’s the description that was provided:

In the spirit of No Country for Old Men, Man on Fire, and Witness, November Road is a story of second chances and redemption. It’s November 22, 1963, JFK has just been assassinated, and all Frank Guidry was supposed to do was get rid of the car – the same car, he realizes, that he had personally delivered to Dealey Plaza a week before. This connects him to the president’s murder and, when other loose ends begin dying all around him, Frank knows he’s next. Hunted by a ruthless hitman hired by his ex-boss,...

Exclusive: Though the past several years have left Lawrence Kasdan focused in space writing Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Solo: A Star Wars Story, Kasdan will now focus on the period surrounding the JFK assassination. Kasdan has made a six-figure acquisition of the film rights to November Road, the upcoming novel from Edgar Award-winning author Lou Berney. The novel is just being published by William Morrow HarperCollins.

Kasdan will write and direct, and will produce the film with Shane Salerno in a co-production between Kasdan Pictures and The Story Factory. The producers intend to fast-track the project, and for it to be Kasdan’s next film. Distributors are circling and that part of the deal should be made shortly.

In the spirit of No Country for Old Men, Man on Fire, and Witness, November Road is a story of second chances and redemption. It’s November 22, 1963, JFK has just been assassinated,...

This story first appeared in the May 8 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. What are the buzzy books making the rounds in Hollywood right now? Here are two titles getting attention from executives, producers and actors in the industry this week.  The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney (William Morrow Paperbacks) Agents: Jeremy Bell and Shari Smiley (Gotham) A private investigator returns home to Oklahoma City, haunted by two 25-year-old cold cases: an armed movie-theater robbery that killed six employees and the disappearance of a teenage girl on

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There are a few classic holiday films we like to pull out each year in addition to the Rankin/Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, such as A Christmas Carol, It's a Wonderful Life and the more modern A Christmas Story. A common thread between these films that has helped make them annual favorites is that they don't focus on the religious or ritual aspects of the holiday, but instead on it as a time for homecomings and shared memories with family and loved ones, friends and neighbors. Soon to join those ranks is When Angels Sing, the adaptation of a Turk Pipkin story by director Tim McCanlies and writer Lou Berney.

Easily the best Christmas movie since 1983's A Christmas Story, When Angels Sing was shot in Austin and features a Who's Who of talent with Texas ties. Stars Harry Connick Jr. and Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights...

When Angels Sing – they already describe this movie as a life-affirming story for all ages, so I guess that one short preview of the whole thing won’t hurt. The movie comes from director Tim McCanlies, it stars Harry Connick Jr. and Connie Britton in the leading roles, and is also one of the films that will premiere at this year’s SXSW (which runs from March 8 – 17). Take a look, and let us know what you think! Tim McCanlies directed the movie from a script written by Lou Berney, which centers on a man named Michael Walker who struggles to make peace with...

South by Southwest (SXSW) is just one of many film festivals, we here at Sound On Sight cover yearly. The fest, which takes place every spring in Austin, Texas, began in 1987, and has continued to grow in size every year. The fest announced the first wave of films back in early January, and the lineup included some highly anticipated films such as The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Evil Dead, Downloaded and Spring Breakers. Now the full lineup has been announced, and it just might be one of the best lineups the festival has ever programmed.

SXSW takes place March 8-16 in Austin Texas. Here are just some of the films we are excited about.

Narrative Feature Competition – This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,191 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere.

Awful Nice

Director/Screenwriter: Todd Sklar, Screenwriter: Alex Rennie

Estranged brothers Jim and Dave must travel to Branson together when...

Some of the best films of the 2012/2013 calender year from Richard Linklater, Harmony Korine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Bujalski, Jeff Nichols, David Gordon Green, Shane Carruth and Joshua Oppenheimer are among the headliner names for the 2013 edition of the South by Southwest Film Festival. With a little over 100 plus film line-up (a whopping 2000+ titles were submitted), almost 70 are world premieres: there is the highly anticipated sophomore film (that has been on our radar since it first went into production) with M. Blash’s (The Wait), Joe Swanberg who makes SXSW his second home will premiere Drinking Buddies, veteran indie filmmaker John Sayles saddles in with Go For Sisters, and rounding out the Narrative Spotlight section we’ve got The Bounceback from Bryan Poyser, Loves Her Gun from Geoff Marslett along with titles we thought might break into Park City, but found an Austin home instead with Jacob Vaughan’s Milo and...