Following the news that the budget for Spud – The Movie is close to meeting its R40 million target, and that filming is set to get underway in the new year, IOL journalist Billy Suter sat down with John van de Ruit to probe the author’s opinions on the movie-making process so far:
It’s exciting stuff for Van de Ruit, but also, with the budget still being raised for the film, a nailbiting time for him and his film-making colleagues.
Exactly when did the wheels begin moving for the whole movie process?
“I received four approaches for the film rights very soon after Spud was published in September 2005, one of which was for a television series,” says Van de Ruit.
“The decision was a fairly simple one in the end, as Roguestar Films not only offered a superior deal, but, even more crucially, desired my creative and personal input in the project.”
What sort of money was he paid for the screen rights? And, as part of the deal, was he locked into sequel deals?
Percentage
“The deal was only for the first book, and obviously the value of the following books’ screen rights will be dictated by the success of the film. I’m rather coy about revealing what I earn, but suffice to say it involves a cash payout and a percentage of the film’s profits.”
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December 21st, 2009 @15:16 #
What a clever boy, only his mom could be prouder! I do miss seeing him on stage though.....
December 21st, 2009 @16:37 #
So nice to read this kind of "fairytale" narrative. Hope it all comes together beautifully.