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More revenues from The Hitchhiker’s guide announced

with 8 comments

Douglas Adams passed away, and with him, the ability of making money of new Hitchiker’s books.

Now Adams’s widow, Jane Belson, has finally found a way to kickstart the money machine, in her everlasting quest to produce money hats off of her late husband’s work.

Eoin Colfer, 43, who is no stranger to milking a series for all it’s worth, said he was “terrified” by the prospect of actually raking it in from the works of another artist. He assured us that fans will buy it, based on almost a quarter of a century of the Hithchiker’s products being a cash-cow. He said that the series being, what he described as a “slice of satirical genius”, would not come in his way of having his way with them in his goal for enlarging his rates in at an order of magnitude.

The Adams leeching also spawned a BBC TV series starring Simon Jones, and amovie that made more people questioning the decision making of the late Adams “Golden Goose” estate.

“My first reaction was semi-outrage that anyone other than me was allowed to tamper with this incredible series,” Colfer said. “But on reflection I realised that this is a wonderful opportunity for me to dip in that pool of income that is the Hitchiker and drink my fill. It was also obvious to me that with such a devout following, I could have my 2-year-old girl write it and still make a pretty penny of the deal.”

“I feel more pressure to perform now than I ever have with my own books, and that is why I am bloody determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written. At any rate, it will be better than the movie and that was actually based on a book”

Jane Belson said: “I am delighted that Eoin Colfer has agreed to continue the Hitchhiker series. I was worried that I will not be able to buy that 300-acre farm on Essex, and might have to settle for a 100-acres.”

“I love the revenues he made off his books and could not think of a better person to chunk out a fast one before the Christmas rush. The project has my full support.”

Adams died of heart failure in 2001, aged 49. In his wake, several cheap shots were released, including “The Salmon of Doubt“, which was left in a nowhere-near-ready-for-print state, a movie that assured viewers worldwide that neither Belson, nor her advisors, have any clue what about her late husband is paying their montly fees (other than sticking the words “hitchiking” and “galaxy”, that is).

Around 16 million copies of his Hitchhiker books, which have been translated into 35 languages, have been sold around the world.

Colfer was a primary school teacher in Ireland before he secured the largest ever advance for a children’s novel by an unknown author. He has sworen since to break that record and improve on it, whatever the damage to his artistic integrity. In recent interviews he confessed of never having it in the first place.

His Artemis Fowl series, about a teenage criminal mastermind who wreaks havoc in this world and the next, went on to sell more than 18 million copies worldwide and a film adaptation is due to go into production next year, despite being devoided of a single original idea. Or because of it.

And Another Thing… will be published in October next year, and sequels will continue to appear as long as the idiotsfans are willing to pay for it.

Written by Erez

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 14:01

Posted in Books, Business

Tagged with ,

8 Responses

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  1. I detest this “share-cropping” of popular series/authors. They’ve done it with DUNE, they’ve done it with Marion Zimmer Bradley and V.C. Andrews…

    Authors like Colfer who do such hackwork should be absolutely ashamed of themselves and “fans” who are anxious to see a popular series continued by a second rate talent are the lowest of the low.

    Cliff Burns

    Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 14:45

  2. I’m as worried about this as you are. But I should point out that both the TV series and the film were projects that Adams himself was very deeply involved in. Neither of those projects can fairly be described as leeching.

    Dave Cross

    Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at 16:36

  3. Most of my post was an attempt to un-PR the bbc.co.uk article, so I might’ve missed a few points. For some reason, I recalled a second TV series released after Adams’ death. I stand corrected.

    As for the movie, it was produced post-homously and was reworked off Adams’ draft, which I don’t consider something he was involved with any more than Earth: Final Conflict or Andromeda being project Gene Roddenberry was involved with.

    It is still amazing how, despite all of Adams’ success, publishers were still cautiuos about green-lighting projects when it came to him. It is probably have to do with the man himself, seeing that all those projects are getting green-lighted pretty damn fast now that they don’t have to deal with him anymore.

    Erez

    Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 9:57

  4. “it was produced post-homously:
    At first I read that one as “post-humorously”

    Uri

    Sunday, September 21, 2008 at 11:25

  5. This is unbelievable! I don’t pretend to know anything about this wife of his but I got the impression from your quotes that she’s an author of some kind already… Why can’t she just create her own franchise rather than mutilating an already existing one? You’d think she have more respect…

    Well, I won’t buy it.

    professorfantastic

    Monday, September 22, 2008 at 19:07

  6. i feel physically ill.

    secretGeek

    Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 14:00

  7. He has been dead for 10 years, and I still feel a little shock when I remember how young he was.

    What a loss.

    Matt

    Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 17:44

  8. hola con todos tles quiero de sir este guego es el mejor de todos los juegosnpero les gano a todos tengo los 5 mejores autos y el supra el r Click https://twitter.com/moooker1

    iramayer40257

    Friday, April 8, 2016 at 16:31


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