NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2014
/PRNewswire/ -- HarperCollins Publishers US and UK announced
today that it has acquired English language rights in their
respective territories to ENDGAME, a young adult
trilogy by international bestselling author James Frey and New York
Times bestselling author Nils
Johnson-Shelton, while Twentieth Century Fox has picked up
the theatrical rights. The first book in the trilogy, ENDGAME:
THE CALLING, is an engrossing novel at the center of a
groundbreaking interactive project launched through a partnership
with HarperCollins, Full Fathom Five, and Google's Niantic Labs.
ENDGAME: THE CALLING will be published on October 7th, 2014.
ENDGAME is a fully integrated, multimedia experience that
will combine a trilogy of young adult novels, fifteen original
e-book novellas, YouTube videos, search and image results, mapping
coordinates, social media, and interactive gaming in one
revolutionary creative project. Each book in the ENDGAME
trilogy will feature an interactive puzzle comprised of clues and
riddles throughout the text. A major prize is at stake for each
book in the ENDGAME series. For ENDGAME: THE CALLING,
a quantity of gold will be on public display in a secure
bullet-proof glass case. When the puzzle is solved, a key is found
and the gold can be claimed—an event which will be broadcast live
on YouTube.
The three-book and nine-digital novella deal was negotiated by
Tara Weikum, Vice President,
Editorial Director, HarperCollins Children's US and Rachel Denwood, Creative Director for
HarperCollins UK, and Eric Simonoff, Co-Head of the William
Morris Endeavor Book Department, Simon
Trewin, Head of Literary UK at William Morris Endeavor, and
David Krintzman of Morris Yorn on behalf of James Frey and Full Fathom Five, the creators of
I AM NUMBER FOUR.
ENDGAME will be released simultaneously around the world
and in over 30 languages. Foreign partners include Intrinseca
(Brazil), Gallimard Jeunesse/Le
Groupe Madrigall (France), Gakken
(Japan), Oetinger (Germany) and Salani (Italy).
"We are excited to work with James
Frey and Full Fathom Five on this groundbreaking series,"
said Brian Murray, President and
CEO, HarperCollins Publishers. "This is a spectacular story that
embodies the future of publishing—great content, interactivity and
a multimedia experience."
"I'm thrilled to be working with HarperCollins, 20th
Century Fox, and Google Niantic on the ENDGAME series. We're doing
something really amazing, really new, something readers are going
to love. The whole project is a dream come true, and as far as I'm
concerned, October can't come soon enough," James Frey said.
Twentieth Century Fox has won the rights to the ENDGAME
series of books from James Frey. The
deal struck this past weekend encompasses the three books and nine
interstitial novellas. Frey is writing the script for the first
film. Films will be produced by Temple Hill's Wyck Godfrey and Marty
Bowen, the producers behind the Twilight Saga and
Fox's upcoming theatrical adaptation of the bestseller, The
Fault in Our Stars.
"ENDGAME is an innovative omni-platform endeavor, and we at 20th
Century Fox are thrilled and committed to work with HarperCollins,
and Google Niantic Labs to bring James
Frey's groundbreaking franchise to audiences around the
world," said Emma Watts, President
of Production, 20th Century Fox.
Google's Niantic Labs is developing a location-based augmented
reality game that will bring ENDGAME to life in the real
world. The game builds on the success of "Ingress," which
defined a new category of entertainment that marries video games
with the physical world. The mobile experience will allow
players around the world to join in the battle to unlock the
mysteries and secrets of ENDGAME. Google Niantic will
also be distributing six ENDGAME novellas exclusively
at the Google Play store. The game is expected to launch on
Android and iOS devices in late 2014.
"James has a great vision for telling stories in an integrated
way across books, film, social media, and mobile games,"
John Hanke, VP of Product, Niantic
Labs at Google, said. "We are delighted to bring our technology and
expertise to bear on a project that is helping to define the future
of entertainment."
James Frey is originally
from Cleveland. His first three
books, A Million Little Pieces, My Friend Leonard, and Bright Shiny
Morning were all #1 bestsellers in the United States and international
bestsellers. His fourth book, The Final Testament of the Holy
Bible, was published as a limited edition in the United States by the Gagosian Gallery and
is an international bestseller. His work has been published in 42
languages.
Through Full Fathom Five, the integrated media and production
company he founded in 2010, Frey has launched multiple
New York Times bestsellers and
developed over forty books, television shows, films and video
games, including the hit Lorien Legacies series, whose first book,
I AM NUMBER FOUR, was produced as a major motion picture by
Michael Bay and DreamWorks.
Full Fathom Five is an integrated media and production
company founded in 2009 by James
Frey. Its first two books both hit #1 on The New York Times
Best Seller List. Since its formation, Full Fathom Five has created
over forty books, television shows, films and videogames, including
the hit Lorien Legacies series, whose first book, I Am Number Four,
was produced as a major motion picture by Michael Bay and DreamWorks. In partnership with
Booktrack, Full Fathom Five was the first company to release a book
with a synchronized digital soundtrack; and in partnership with Glu
Mobile, it was the first company to release a book and video game
on the same day that were intricately linked and dependent on each
other for a full reading/gaming experience. It currently has
publishing deals with Random House, Penguin, HarperCollins, and
Simon & Schuster, film deals with DreamWorks, Warner Brothers
and Disney, and television deals with ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, FX,
Nickelodeon, Sony TV, Universal Television, OWN and HBO. In its
first three years, Full Fathom Five has sold millions of books
around the world, has had a #1 film, a #1 DVD, and a #1 film
download, and is considered one of the most forward-thinking
creators of new original content across multiple platforms.
ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS
HarperCollins Publishers, one of the largest English-language
publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS,
NWSA; ASX: NNC, NNCLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups
around the world in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, and India.
HarperCollins is a broad-based publisher with strengths in literary
and commercial fiction, business books, children's books,
cookbooks, narrative nonfiction, mystery, romance, reference, pop
culture, design, health, wellness, and religious and spiritual
books. With nearly 200 years of history, HarperCollins has
published some of the world's foremost authors, including winners
of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award,
the Newbery Medal, and the Caldecott Medal. HarperCollins is
consistently at the forefront of innovation, using digital
technology to create unique reading experiences and expand the
reach of its authors. You can visit HarperCollins Publishers online
at: http://www.harpercollins.com
About 20th Century Fox Film
One of the world's
largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, 20th Century
Fox Film produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures
throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or
acquired by the following units: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000
Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Productions
and Twentieth Century Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios.
About Niantic Labs
Niantic Labs is a startup within
Google dedicated to using the power of mobile apps to drive people
to interact with the real world, unlocking information and new
entertainment experiences. In November
2012, Niantic Labs launched "Ingress" (www.ingress.com), a
mobile location-based game which integrates a deep fictional
storyline with innovative social gameplay in the physical
world. Niantic Labs also publishes "Field Trip"
(www.fieldtripper.com), an app dedicated to the discovery of the
best things in the world around you.
SOURCE HarperCollins Publishers