Today's guest is Deborah Kaufmann, VP of Literary Affairs at Legendary Entertainment.
Translated into lay, non-Hollywood terms, this means that Deborah is some sort of in-house scout for Legendary, in charge of finding literary properties that can be adapted to the big or small screen. As you’ll find out, such properties can include books, but also unpublished short stories, podcasts, and news and magazine articles.
It was fascinating to get to know Deborah’s work a bit more in depth, and to hear her thoughts on the current state of the movie business and the revolution brought about by streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon.
Show Notes
- Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
- Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
- Weather by Jenny Offill
Since 2014, Deborah Kaufmann has been overseeing acquisitions of literary properties for Legendary Entertainment’s film and TV divisions, and working in New York. Previously, she was a senior editor based in Paris, publishing award-winning and international bestselling authors for 15 years – including Jenny Offill, Howard Jacobson, Claire Vaye Watkins, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Malala Yousafzai, Tana French, Anthony Horowitz, Walter Kirn, Elizabeth Gilbert, Audrey Niffenegger, Jeff Lindsay, and many others. She also ran the Orbit France science-fiction and fantasy imprint.
