European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 1, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Book writers in Sean Mitchell no Day in january the manuscript of a a private lies a a new novel by. 1 Warren Adler was sent out by messenger from the triad artists Agency in los Angeles to 15 Hollywood studios and producers so that the movie com panics could bid for the rights to turn the novel into a film. The manuscript had not yet been delivered or even sold to a publisher but that mattered not a Whit in Hollywood where a Bounty was already being offered by eager producers for purloined copies. Interest in a private lies was keen because Adler was also the author of the Book a War of the roses a which was made into a movie at 20th Century Fox in 1989 and grossed $84 million in the United states. A Little More than 24 hours later Tri Star pictures outbid Warner Bros Columbia and Carol co and purchased the film rights to a private lies Quot for $1.2 million. It was one of the highest sums yet paid in Hollywood for an unpublished manuscript the. Book will be published in february. But it was Only the latest round in the frantic futures Market of the film business where the first drafts of what arc thought to be hot books Are circulated among producers and auctioned for movie sales before they even see the Ink of Galley proofs. Irene Webb who runs the literary department at the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills recalls having to sell Dominick Dunne a Book a people like us before the author had even finished it because a production company with an Early draft called to make an ofter. Webb sold the rights to Dunne a new Book a an inconvenient woman a to Abc productions Lor $500,000. A people were begging to bid on it Quot she says. A thai s the Way people Are ,. When it comes to books. When producers get a a a Universal City studios a ubom on the fourth of july a with Tom cruise As Ron Kovic was based on a novel by Kovic. Wind that a network wants to do a Book they be got to have it  do  writer director David Lynch a new movie a wild at heart a which just won the top prize at the Cannes film festival was adapted from a novel by Barry Gifford that has not yet been published. Michael Crichton a new novel a Jurassic Park Quot to be published in october was purchased by Universal for $1.5 million. Last year producer Richard Zanuck paid million Cash for a Rush a an autobiographical first novel by Kim Wozencraft published in april about a Texas narcotics cop gone bad and Back again. This race to acquire new books is part of the current Competition in Hollywood that has broken records for spending Levels and brought writers a screenwriters As Well As novelists a a closer to the big Money enjoyed by stars and directors. The sales figures Are a big increase from the Early 1980s, when even the rights to Best Sellers commanded $250,000 and less. Hollywood has looked to books for stories at least since the arrival of sound in the mid-1920s, As is evident from any list of its most memorable films such As a gone with the wind a a the graduate Quot Quot the maltese Falcon Quot and a ubom on the fourth of  yet its willingness to pay for these literary sources has fluctuated with the film i Ndu so Rye a j i Ottery pulse i interest rates and is Avish Pursuit of the next big thing. No one in the film or publishing businesses can say for sure Why Hollywood has plunged into a new Bull marketer books. There Are several theories such As the renewed search for adult stories fitted to the aging movie going audience the inflation of costs and profits throughout filmmaking the number of High profile books bought by trendsetting producers Peter Gubur and Jon Peters a the color purple a a switches of Eastwick a a Bonfire of the vanities and what  the Industry see As a glut of Quot original Quot screenplays that Arentt based on other literary material but Are often written in imitation of other films. If there is a pattern to the kind of books Hollywood is buying that too is hard to detect. Crime and punishment a a Rush Are big but so is social satire a Bonfire of the vanities Quot and celebrity biographies. And As always sex is for Sale. A Lolita Quot the late Vladimir Nabokov a 1958 novel about an aging professors obsession with a 12-year-old girl was just resold to Carol co for $1 million. A a a. Los Angeles times. A Scarletto sequel runs into delay the much Bally booed sequel to Margaret Mitchells novel a gone with the wind Quot is Gune from Warner books fall lineup the president of the publishing House said last month. But As Scarlett o Hara said there a always tomorrow a or next year to be More exact. Laurence Kirshbaum president of Warner books said the new target Dale will be either May or possibly pre Christmas 1991. He said the delay was because the author did extensive research by herself and started writing later than had been expected. Word that the publisher had quietly dropped the much anticipated sequel from its fall re lease schedule a and cancelled a pre release promotion party at the american booksellers association convention in Las vegas last month a started Industry tongues wagging. A a there were rumours that Quot Scarlett the sequel to Margaret Mitchells gone with the wind Quot needs massive first Aid. A a i done to understand where that kind of talk comes from Quot Kirshbaum said. Quot from what in be seen which is about 40 or 50 percent i think its Superb. A a a it a funny nobody blinks an Eye when it takes a Robert Caro five 10 years to Complete a Book. For a Book to run six months late is not uncommon at All in this  Warner books won the rights to publish the sequel at a Mitchell estate auction in 1988 but the estate got to choose the author Romance novelist Alexandra Ripley Kirshbaum said Warner has paid out Quot Only a Small portion of the $5 million Price lag to Dale the bulk of the Money will be Given to the estate when a final version is accepted. The author will be paid by the estate. Ripley s agent Robert Gottlieb also denied the rumours saying �?o1 would assume with a project of this magnitude when the delivery Dale is not met there Are a lot of rumours  a this is a herculean Effort Quot he added a and the author has to bring every skill she has to the table. She does not want Lodi appoint a gone with the wind fans a neither Kirshbaum nor Gottlieb would divulge the plot of the sequel although the Wall Street journal said rumours abound that Scarlett has a baby and moves to Ireland where Rhett Butler is running guns. Quot part of that is Correct Quot Gottlieb hinted refusing to offer any further insight. A wow fans will just have to wait. Assoc 13press c sunday july 1. 1990