That’s a Rapp

I recently had a chance to interview author Vince Flynn. And during our conversation, he stated that he’d only sell the film rights to his Mitch Rapp novels “if the right person is behind the project.” So it would seem that this Minneapolis-based writer has finally found Mr. Right. From The Bookseller’s report:

“One of my first goals for CBS Films was to find a character-based movie franchise,” added Amy Baer, president and CEO of CBS. “With the Mitch Rapp series, Vince Flynn has created a relatable, modern, post-9/11 hero for the action/thriller genre.”

It seems that everyone, including novelist Flynn, is satisfied with the terms of this arrangement, at least according to Web Wire:

CBS Films has optioned the rights for Flynn’s Mitch Rapp character with the intention of creating a character-based, action-thriller movie franchise. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who produced two of last summer’s hits--“Transformers” and Stephen King’s “1408”--and Nick Wechsler (“We Own the Night”) are in negotiations to produce the films. ...

“I couldn’t be happier with this deal,” said Flynn. "Signing up for four more books, keeping the movie in the family with CBS Films and getting Lorenzo and Nick to sign on as producers ... it’s the outcome I’d always hoped for. Loyalty is a big thing to me. Simon & Schuster, Atria and Pocket Books have stood by me for 10 years and done a magnificent job publishing my novels. Lorenzo and Nick have been trying to bring Mitch Rapp to the big screen since 2004, so there is a level of commitment on their part that is very comforting to me. They understand Mitch Rapp, as does Amy Baer and her team. It is going to be a lot of fun watching CBS Films hit this thing out of the park.”

As Crimespree Cinema’s Jeremy Lynch remarks, “Not bad for a guy that self-published his first novel.”