Chorion announcement

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Charles
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Chorion announcement

Post by Charles »

Dear All

You may well see in the papers tomorrow morning that Chorion, a leading provider of quality entertainment for the global marketplace which owns and manages the worldwide IP rights to some of the greatest novelists and mystery writers of all time, and whose portfolio includes Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler and Georges Simenon, has today announced that it has acquired the literary estate of Dennis Wheatley.

Chorion state in their Press Release, "Dennis Wheatley was a hugely successful author who is primed to be 'rediscovered' by the next generation. Chorion is looking at the Wheatley portfolio from a fresh perspective and considering everything from republishing his out-of-print works, to new adaptations for the young adult market and film opportunities".

Music to our ears !

I will put some more in another posting shortly ...

Best regards to all
Charles
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Post by Nick »

Great news I agree! I wonder where this will lead? Film opportunities are pretty hard to come by in this country, however we live in hope. See you all at the convention.
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Post by Stevie P »

This really is superb info.

I always felt that DW would be 'rediscovered' as Chorion have stated, mainly due to the fact that he was the major instigator of the 'Magic novel' whether it be Black or White.
It has always astonished me that other authors haven't latched on to this type of writing as Magic in its various forms is becoming increasingly more popular and accepted.
If Chorion can push this through it could prove a great move for the public at large and the DW fanbase inparticular.
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Post by Jim »

Check "Inspector Maigret's official website" to see the kind of nifty work Chorion does:

http://www.maigret.com/uk/site/maigrets ... imenon.php
Charles
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Post by Charles »

Just to add a little more to the earlier announcement, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Chorion's Literary Estates Business Manager a while ago.

We have had a number of conversations about DW and his works, and I have discussed with her the results of our recent DW 'Questionnaire'. When she is thinking about what to do and when, she will therefore be aware of our views of which are DW's best novels, and which would make the most exciting films.

Keep your fingers crossed for lots of 'stylish' adaptations

All the best as always
Charles
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Post by Charles »

Apart from using the results of our Questionnaire in their deliberations, Chorion can see the benefits of tapping the knowledge of DW aficionados.

One thing they are doing at the moment is preparing a series of 'soundbite synopses' (my words, not theirs) of each of the novels which they can use to convey the plots to those unfamiliar with them.

Their 'in house' team are preparing some, but they would be interested if any of our number would care to have a go.

No remuneration (except perhaps for the providers of the best efforts being on the receiving end of a round of drinks if they are attending the Convention !), and Chorion may use them or adapt them as they see fit, but it is a wonderful opportunity for us to shape important peoples' views of the 'essence' of each novel.

I'm starting a new Topic called 'Soundbite synopses' for you to put your efforts into, and would really encourage you to participate - the more we help now, the more we are likely to be asked to help later.

I'm not going to format it into separate sections for separate novels as I don't want to make it too complicated, but if it's popular, I'll collate our attempts afterwards - and don't worry if someone has already attempted a book - the more versions the merrier.

The rules are just 50 words max, and here by way of example is one that Chorion's in house team came up with earlier :

To The Devil A Daughter

"Sold to the devil as a baby, Christina's life and soul is in peril. Tough-minded Molly Fountain and ex-secret service Colonel Verney fight to save her moves vividly and violently from the Frech Riviera to the dark landscapes of East Anglia".

It's our chance to contribute, and I have to say I think it's really nice of Chorion to ask us. Let's not let them down.

Oh - by the way, I haven't said, it would be REALLY USEFUL to them if they could have as many as possible by THE END OF THE MONTH (APRIL).

I'm going off to think of my own clumsy attempts ... see you all later !
Charles
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Post by Charles »

You may have seen that Press comment is starting to appear about the Chorion deal.

The Bookseller has referred to it, see

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/57049 ... orion.html

and The Independent has picked up on it too.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 14969.html

I understand the Observer are also in the process of doing something.

Please keep the 'soundbite synopses' coming in !

Many thanks !
Charles
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Post by Esmond »

I do so hope that they might find distribution in America.
In his autobiography the beloved actor Christopher Lee stated he has always wanted to remake The Devil Rides Out as he feels that he is now of that certain age where he can do justice to the Duc's character.

Perhaps that is too much to hope for, however this pending republishing of DW novels and hopefully his nonfiction as well is a dream come true.
Even the greatest seekers after Truth have done little more than lift the corner of the veil which hides the vast Unknown...
--Duke de Richleau
Charles
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Post by Charles »

Some of you may have noticed in the financial press that Chorion have been in trouble, breaking their banking covenants and selling off their assets.

It appears that The Rights House and PFD have snapped up the rights to DW's works and several others ... see for example

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/right ... tates.html

Their strategy is apparently "to focus on international sales for these authors, to get them recognised globally, with new series for TV and radio too."

Let's hope that's right and we will see some tasteful adaptations before long ...

Best wishes as always !
Charles
Jim
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Post by Jim »

Very interesting (and encouraging) that they thought Dennis Wheatley worth acquiring...
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Post by Steve Whatley »

Good heavens, it doesn't seem five minutes ago that Charles excited us all with news of the Chorion acquisition!

But I see that it's nearly four years! How time flies!

Let's hope that the new arrangement will be more fruitful.

All Best, Steve[font=Courier New] [/font]
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Post by Garry Holmes »

Steve Whatley wrote:Good heavens, it doesn't seem five minutes ago that Charles excited us all with news of the Chorion acquisition!

But I see that it's nearly four years! How time flies!

Let's hope that the new arrangement will be more fruitful.

All Best, Steve[font=Courier New] [/font]
Sounds like they're going to release them all as E-books. I'm a paper and ink man myself, but I suppose that if we want another generation to take up DW then we'll just have to move with the times. I expect that there will be the usual judicious pruning of the more objectionable non-PC bits (as with Agatha Christie), but I'm pretty happy about this. It would be lovely to think of all his stuff being out there again, rather than mouldering away in the few remaining second hand bookshops.

I wonder if they'll remove the huge info-dump at the beginning of GIFFORD HILLARY? No-one coming new to the novel is going to miss it, and the world has changed so much since the book was published that it is really of historical interest only.
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Post by Alan »

Garry Holmes wrote:
Steve Whatley wrote:Good heavens, it doesn't seem five minutes ago that Charles excited us all with news of the Chorion acquisition!

But I see that it's nearly four years! How time flies!

Let's hope that the new arrangement will be more fruitful.

All Best, Steve[font=Courier New] [/font]
Sounds like they're going to release them all as E-books. I'm a paper and ink man myself, but I suppose that if we want another generation to take up DW then we'll just have to move with the times. I expect that there will be the usual judicious pruning of the more objectionable non-PC bits (as with Agatha Christie), but I'm pretty happy about this. It would be lovely to think of all his stuff being out there again, rather than mouldering away in the few remaining second hand bookshops.

I wonder if they'll remove the huge info-dump at the beginning of GIFFORD HILLARY? No-one coming new to the novel is going to miss it, and the world has changed so much since the book was published that it is really of historical interest only.
To be honest, while I found the idea (of amalgamating all the armed forces) most intriguing, I remember thinking on first reading (I was fourteen at the time I think) that it didn't have much to do with the actual story. The death ray, Giff's "living death" and the rest of the plot could be told without the background.

Against this, I have to make a point - is there any evidence that today's readers have any shorter an attention span than those of fifty years ago? Modern readers of my acquaintance seem to have no difficulty with writers who put in vast info dumps (Stephen Donaldson comes to mind here), and for that matter "The Hunger Games" trilogy (which I am totally obsessed with at the moment) requires the reader to take in huge amounts of back-story to appreciate the reasons for what is happening.
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Post by Jim »

Garry Holmes wrote: Sounds like they're going to release them all as E-books. I'm a paper and ink man myself, but I suppose that if we want another generation to take up DW then we'll just have to move with the times. I expect that there will be the usual judicious pruning of the more objectionable non-PC bits (as with Agatha Christie), but I'm pretty happy about this. It would be lovely to think of all his stuff being out there again, rather than mouldering away in the few remaining second hand bookshops.
I hope there won't be too much tinkering. While Chorion held the John Creasey rights, all the Commander Gideon novels were reissued with new titles (which were certainly no improvement). His stuff is now being handled by Coolabi.
Garry Holmes
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Post by Garry Holmes »

Jim wrote:
Garry Holmes wrote: Sounds like they're going to release them all as E-books. I'm a paper and ink man myself, but I suppose that if we want another generation to take up DW then we'll just have to move with the times. I expect that there will be the usual judicious pruning of the more objectionable non-PC bits (as with Agatha Christie), but I'm pretty happy about this. It would be lovely to think of all his stuff being out there again, rather than mouldering away in the few remaining second hand bookshops.
I hope there won't be too much tinkering. While Chorion held the John Creasey rights, all the Commander Gideon novels were reissued with new titles (which were certainly no improvement). His stuff is now being handled by Coolabi.
I know what you mean about the Gideon books. GIDEON'S WRATH was re-released with the clever dick title of FROM MURDER TO A CATHEDRAL. It would be nice to think that the publishers would respect DW at least enough to keep the proper titles. If they are hoping to put out stuff in the USA, though, we might just have to make do with some serious editing. I've seen crime novels from the 70s where whole scenes were removed in the American edition because they were deemed unacceptable for the readership. Most Wheatley books would probably pass by with only a few non-PC words removed, but something like GATEWAY TO HELL might cause real trouble.
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