Bob Bookman: Fifty Years at the Top of Hollywood’s Book-to-Screen Game

We are pleased to welcome Bob Bookman to the second episode of Unedited: From Idea to Manuscript and Shelf to Screen. Having represented marquee novels like Jurassic Park and The Silence of the Lambs, Bob joins us to discuss the evolving role of books in Hollywood over the past fifty years.

In his half-century career, still ongoing, Bob has represented Michael Crichton, Tom Wolfe, Anne Rice, Graham Greene, Nora Ephron, Thomas Harris, and Ken Follett, amongst others.

He has also represented screenwriting and directing talent including Paul Greengrass, Jonathan Demme, Cameron Crowe, Joe Eszterhas, and Brian DePalma, amongst others. After some healthy digressions about the origins of French remakes like True Lies and The Birdcage, we explore with Bob why the book—including for all those commencing NNWM this week—remains the key driver of narrative IP, even in today’s world of incredible competition.