Hollywood Agency Adds New Twist to Bidding on Story

In a bizarre twist on Hollywood’s tradition of hard-nosed deal making, a major talent agency on Thursday claimed credit for driving down the price paid to one of its top clients.

Creative Artists Agency, bucking current trends, said it discouraged a bidding war over the screen rights to author Michael Crichton’s upcoming science fiction thriller “Jurassic Park” in order to exert more control over the project.

The novel still fetched a handsome $1.5 million from Universal Pictures in a deal that guarantees director Steven Spielberg’s participation. Crichton will also receive $500,000 to write the screenplay and a percentage of the film’s profits. But CAA said it could have gotten more.

“There were a large number of studios and directors interested,” said Robert Bookman, Crichton’s agent. “But we wanted to put Michael in a situation where he could choose from among competing directors rather than competing studios. And a bidding war means you have to take the highest bid.”

Others who tried to acquire the film rights to Crichton’s soon-to-be-published book--about the havoc that results from the genetic re-creation of dinosaurs--confirmed that the manuscript alone could have commanded $2 million. Tri-Star Pictures Chairman Mike Medavoy, one of those interested in the manuscript, said he viewed Crichton’s book as a top prospect.

“I think it’s true” that they could have gotten more for the novel, Medavoy said. “Maybe not a lot more, but more. There was a lot of interest. We’re sorry we missed it.”

CAA’s strategy in selling “Jurassic Park” is not unprecedented, especially when a specific author wants to work with a specific filmmaker. Even writer Shane Black, whose “The Last Boy Scout” fetched $1.75 million in a bidding war that sent shock waves through Hollywood, rejected a slightly higher bid in order to chose his studio.

CAA has traditionally discouraged its clients from engaging in such bidding wars, believing that they are bad for business and for their clients’ long-term careers. But those familiar with movie rights fees for books said Crichton’s deal still ranks as one of Hollywood’s sweetest. International Creative Management agent Jeff Berg negotiated an unprecedented $2-million deal for client Peter Benchley’s “The Island” in 1978, but most top books fetch less, even today.

Sources close to Crichton’s deal said the best-selling author and occasional director, who is known for such spine-tingling works as “The Andromeda Strain” and “The Terminal Man,” helped determine how “Jurassic Park” would be peddled. Crichton’s primary interest was in finding a director who could “execute his vision,” one source near the deal explained.

CAA offered Crichton’s manuscript, which will be published by Alfred A. Knopf Inc. in October, to its usual list of major clients on Monday, according to sources. The first offer was about $500,000, but CAA set a target price of $1.5 million, based on what other major books have fetched in recent years and on Crichton’s expectations.

In exchange for meeting its price, CAA promised that it would not “shop around” competing offers and encourage a bidding war.

Crichton then helped narrow the choices to Warner Bros, which offered up “Batman” director Tim Burton and producer Joel Silver; Columbia/Tri-Star, which weighed in with Richard Donner and Guber-Peters Entertainment Co.; 20th Century Fox, with Joe Dante and Sandollar Productions, and Universal, with Spielberg directing for his Amblin Entertainment.

All four met CAA’s demand of $1.5 million for the project, which is expected to cost $40 million to $50 million to make, sources said. CAA promised an answer by Wednesday, but Crichton opted to “sleep on it” before deciding he was most comfortable with Spielberg and Universal.

With the exception of Tri-Star, the studios in final competition for “Jurassic Park,” refused to comment on the sale. One leading Hollywood executive, who asked not to be identified, said he found it unusual that the agency was publicizing such a deal. But he added that it may reflect a growing backlash against out-of-control costs that have concerned many Hollywood executives.

Spielberg has committed to making “Jurassic Park” his next project.