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Q&A: BOOKS-TO-FILM
A PROFILE OF
PETER DEKOM |
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Scene - Interior Shot - a lower Eastside movie theater
After twelve weeks on the NY Times bestseller list, is there an author who does not quietly, while alone in a padded room, think about taking a book to the coast? Not the Baja Coast. North by more than 200 miles. The coast of Hollywood, the twinkly suburb of Los Angeles, where a movie character's words become an enduring lexicon.
Where Make-My-Day meets An-Offer-You-Can't-Refuse.
After the heady experiences of having a best seller, you loiter in a dark movie theater and think; My book could be a cinematic classic. That thought leads us to examine a phenomenon where once in awhile in an odd convergence of timing, funding, and passion for plot, a book's subtle story line becomes a vividly engaging screenplay.
Word Smitten looks at publishing's cousin by interviewing Peter Dekom, one of the best examples of how to behave in Hollywood. We wanted to ask the question: How does an author cross that book-to-film bridge?
But, we discovered another question. Not, How do you produce a film from a book? The better question to ask is How does anything ever get produced--anywhere?
For the answer, we talked with this legendary below-the-radar deal maker. Peter Dekom. For more than twenty years, Dekom provided solid guidance to production companies and film czars. Projects with industry experts get completed because Peter Dekom--the businessman behind the curtain--commands the wires to move quickly, the drums to reverberate, and the scripts to be read.
A talented and well-regarded businessman, who is an advisor to governors, politicians, producers, and film industry czars, Dekom has represented
As for the often-asked question, "How does anything ever get produced?" For one entertainment executive and attorney Lois Scali, who practices entertainment law in Los Angeles, the only answer is Peter Dekom.
"I met Peter in 1983, my first year as a law student at UCLA. A few years later, while attending a conference for NAPTE, I watched high-powered executives racing down the hallways." Scali had decided to step away from the windburn. Before she could extract herself from that pacesetting NAPTE crowd, she felt a tap on her shoulder. "How nice to see you Ms. Scali." It was Peter Dekom, doing the tapping.
In a whirlwind, he introduced her to key contacts, remembered the names of each individual, from newbie to senior executive, and paved a road for her career. She continues to trust him and to rely on him. Scali represents talent in television and motion pictures, as well as production and new media companies.
"I was a second year associate at Irell & Manella, and from that point on, I realized he treats the most junior person with the same respect as senior executives. That has never changed." From that beginning, in 1987, to the present, she has called on him when a deal presented overwhelming difficulties. Ms. Scali's practice has included domestic and international acquisition; distribution and licensing agreements; sales and acquisitions of film, television, and music libraries; talent agreements; strategic alliances; and general intellectual property advice. "Peter orchestrates so many pioneering deals," she adds, "that if I need his advice, it's there. He is generous about sharing his knowledge."
"Film production in New Mexico has trailed off," Greg Kulka comments, "from more than $60-70 million to less than $16 million in 2001." In his post as alternative investments portfolio manager, Kulka and the members of New Mexico's State Investment Council wanted to encourage the passage of
Part of his effectiveness, his ability to walk on water, according to Kulka, is his endurance. "He met with Governor Gary Johnson and worked closely with Senator Shannon Robinson, who introduced the bill to the 2002 legislative session. We ran him around the capitol. That bill passed both houses with only one dissent from each house. Only one."
Kulka adds, "Every time I listen to Peter talk in front of an audience, it's amazing. He really engages the audience-he's quite a punster."
As a result of the due diligence by Peter Dekom, and a positive vote for Senate Bill 280, New Mexico has revived a conduit for jobs. Kulka summarizes it, "The main idea, projects that would have direct equity participation from vendors, in which the below the line positions would require sixty-percent fulfillment through New Mexico residents, works for us. It works because it's providing for future education channels for us."
As an advisor to the state, Kulka comments that Peter gives 100% of his effort, taking the raw ideas from film producers, and giving them a path for their work.
When people characterize Peter Dekom, Kulka says, "they say he skips across the water, where most people walk." If you were to ask Peter Dekom about it, he would comment they just aren't looking hard enough for his water skis.
Beyond water skis, nothing stops him when a film project is proposed. In his lifetime, he has encountered only one intimidating experience and it had nothing to do with Hollywood.
Entertainment attorney Steve Breimer describes the time his mentor and long-time friend met up with a silver-backed gorilla while trekking in Africa.
"This mammoth gorilla challenged him, made him stop in his tracks," Steve Breimer recalls. "But while everyone else ran, Peter stared him down."
Trekking, a favorite pastime, provides him with tremendous enjoyment, taking the concerns of scripts, financial projections, pending deals, and entertainment personalities out of the mix. No proportion of fear equals standing eye-to-eye with a 500-pound gorilla.
"The guide told everyone to run, but some innate wisdom prevailed and I stood my ground. The babies, small gorillas-and you pronounce it go-ree-yas-are tempting to pick up and hold. They picked at my shoes and hugged at my legs. But the silverback gorilla will kill you. They've been known to throw a man with one hand." Of the incident, Peter quips, "After that, nothing Hollywood does could ever faze me."
Scene - Interior Shot - a seaside location in Los Angeles
Peter Dekom, cinema czar, sits at his keyboard to answer pesky questions from a Word Smitten editor.
Biography
Peter J. Dekom, Esquire, was formerly a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Bloom, Dekom, Hergott and Cook, where his clients included George Lucas, John Travolta, Ron Howard, Rob Reiner, Andy Davis, Robert Towne and Larry Gordon.
He has been listed in Forbes among the top 100 lawyers in the United States and in Premiere as on of the 50 most powerful people in Hollywood.
As a contributing editor for American Premiere Magazine, he has authored many articles including The Net Effect: Making Net Profits Mean Something (1992) and Upheavals in Hollywood (1988).
Mr. Dekom is a management consultant and entrepreneur in entertainment, Internet, and telecommunications. He graduated from Yale in 1968, and graduated first in his class in 1973 from the UCLA School of Law.
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companies as Spelling Entertainment, The Geffen Company, and Imagine Films Entertainment. His client roster included Barry London, Strauss Zelnick, John Travolta, Shelley Duvall, George Lucas, Ron Howard, and Rob Reiner. For more than twenty years, he was a senior partner with Bloom, Dekom, Hergott and Cook first housed in an elegant Sunset Boulevard office and later on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California.
Senate Bill 280 to revitalize an industry that provides jobs and a future for the area. "Peter was instrumental in putting our policies in place and he assisted us with details."