Harlan Coben talks about his unique Netflix deal when he saw his books adapted for TV shows in Spain, France, Poland and other countries.

An American writer whose novels are distributed worldwide in 75 million copies. Harlan Cobain Break into the print world with its legendary criminal brand, including the Myron Bolitar series.

Thanks to the one-time deal, it is now making great strides to new heights in broadcasting. Netflix. The contract, first signed in 2018, is a five-year, multi-million dollar deal that will turn 14 Cobain books into series or films for the internet platform while overseeing projects in various categories.

long-term

In addition to its massive reach, the company is also unique in that it aims to be dynamic internationally since day one, as English-language novels are adapted into different foreign languages ​​in many Netflix production centers across Europe. So far, changes have taken place in Poland (The(Spain)Innocent(Release April 30), France (launch)It is gone forever, To be released later this year), along with English-language projects, including a stranger next one Stay close.

Sometimes Cobain cuts the settings himself and sometimes he takes over, especially when the language changes and behaves like an EP. But as he shows below, he’s always getting creative with the material. As if he wasn’t busy enough, Cobain recently adapted his novel for YA protection On Amazon Prime Video and other commercial projects at Apple and MGM International.

Frontera He sat with a prolific writer and creator to discuss signing a deal with Netflix, why he would like to adapt his work to the world’s languages, and what he does.

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Limit: You are on tour with your TV series.I also write new novels. Where does your energy come from?

Harlan Cobain: It is love of storytelling. I love to do that, that’s what I’m good at. I have no other life. He once asked me, “If you weren’t a writer, who would you be?” A friend of mine told an “American Senator”. I said, “Oh please, I’ll be the quilt cover.” I don’t have anything else

Limit: How did you start your Netflix business?

Two glasses: He did two TV shows in France for TF1, which was a hit and hit Netflix’s radar. We make it safety together [Coben and his producers at Red Production Company] In addition to the international subsidiary of Netflix, they wanted to put on a show in France for the show in the UK, and then they came up with the idea. [for the overall deal]. You want to do a lot of international things and my books sell well abroad. I sell more internationally than I sell in the United States. I thought this was a great opportunity to do a show on Netflix in Spain, Netflix in France, Netflix in the UK, and Netflix in the US. It was attractive to me.

The idea was to have an interesting talent that you wouldn’t normally have in a TV series. Innocent Director Oriol Paulo is an accomplished filmmaker at SPAN. [Lead actor] Mario Casas is probably a big star because he is in Spain. I joined Netflix and it was a great collaboration. I really enjoy working with them, which is unusual for a network or streaming device. I hate that term, but we had a shared vision of what we wanted to do. They won’t pressure me in the second, third, fourth, or fifth season. I can do six, eight, or ten laps. All you need for the story to succeed.

It’s very exciting for me and the talent to someday take part in this show in all eight episodes in 190 countries. More than 200 million subscribers, how many are there? All of them at the same time. It is an amazing place.

When you have the opportunity to work with Netflix, with a lot of different people, in many different countries, and in many different cultures, you can have a bad job if you don’t mind.

Limit: Are you ready to start the series? How can you control it?

Two glasses: Teacher [The Innocent] Already on my Netflix. My wife and I watched eight episodes to see what the dubbing was like. I’ll wake up the next day, awash in comments that aren’t in the book. I think in two or three days, millions of people will see all eight.

Limit: It’s interesting to say “I think” because Netflix doesn’t give you a number, but can you measure the answer?

Two glasses: You can definitely feel it. They give me some numbers, but I swear I’ll keep them a secret. a stranger, For example, it slowly burst a little bit and still resonates with it. My partners in England felt they were starting to feel this desire. How many calls were answered and how much noise there was. Most of the time I try to keep my head down.

Limit: The original deal with Netflix was a great compromise. What assured you to sign?

Two glasses: I have seen what they are safetyI still work with many of the same people. If you tried to do a TV series 20 years ago and didn’t, the episodes must be 40 minutes long, starting with Crime and ending with Crime, and 22 episodes don’t match what I have. I will do now. This is exactly what Netflix does. My next show is in France [Gone For Good] Five loops Innocent Eight, some episodes last 40 minutes and others 50 minutes. For my genre, storytelling works well for broadcast.

I don’t want to sound like much here, but they also do really cool things with their marketing. They have changed the poster you see on the platform to attract new people to see it. I’m the type who wants people to watch my shows. It seems obvious, but a lot of writers pretend they don’t care, I don’t care. Netflix has a huge global platform, which is great.

Limit: Do you have an absolute mandate for the novels cited?

Two glasses: Yes and no. You never attacked me. On InnocentI met many teams, Brazil, Germany, etc. The Spanish captain said he really believes Innocent It would be perfect for you and Paolo Oriol. I met Oriol in New York and I pressed, we’ve been like brothers from day one. Then we took the next step. It’s not like saying, “I want to do this in Germany”. It is cooperation.

I was in the UK to attend the movie premiere. a stranger, Then you went to Barcelona to see your movie Innocent. Then he went to Paris to meet the band. How fun it is

Limit: Have you always been interested in working internationally?

Two glasses: Before becoming a writer, I was involved in international travel. It was a family business and my job was to travel to different countries and help organize trips. I’ve always had a great passion for travel.

We live in the golden age of television. Five years ago, an American had never before seen a program in a foreign language. They just won’t. There is so much talent on the international stage right now, and the best things are done in exchanges that have yet to reach saturation in America. Americans are from Central America, but we are learning.

Offers are mixed. You can still feel American like me, but you can also feel Spanish [with The Innocent].

Limit: T.Spanish content is very popular here, especially since there are many Spanish speakers outside of Spain. There is also a large Polish community, but they don’t have much experience. The?

Two glasses: Was great. I cannot engage with people who speak a foreign language, I trust a lot in the band there. I really thought they did a great job. Next time I was going to force her to be a little more American, maybe faster, but I think she was grumpy and angry and really interesting. He loved the cast, directing, and acting both periods. I wasn’t disappointed with the setup yet.

I work with some more than others. I actively participate in all of them, especially in the beginning. Because [The Innocent]Uriol and I talked about it from the start. I took a lot of notes on the lyrics. They send me emails quickly every day, but I have no comment. I participated in editing again.

Limit: Is the goal still 14 revisions over five years?

Two glasses: I do not know. Innocent It will be released on April 30th, followed by one day. It is gone forever Then in France Stay close in the UK. So I am not sure. We are looking forward to more series in different countries and we are currently working on 3 more series that I cannot talk about. One of them is in a new area. It can be more creative ideas and fewer novels. [Safe was based on an original idea by Coben]. I’m going to talk to Netflix about it and we’ll decide together.

Limit: Or they call you three months before the contract ends and say, “You still owe us six corrections.”

Two glasses: She was so funny [laughs].

Limit: He recently signed an agreement with Amazon for a simple quote. protectionYou also have projects Apple and MGM International. How does the Netflix deal work?

Two glasses: The Netflix deal does not cover the Myron Bolitar series or the spin-offs YA Mickey Bolitar. Amazon turns teen books into a series. Finally, I’ll tell you which washer is best to work with [laughs].

Limit: Are you writing more novels now?

Two glasses: Obtains It came out last month. With respect to: v a stranger“The stranger” turns around, I’ve never thought about what will happen to him when it’s over. Now I am establishing this continuity Jungle boy Something strange has just appeared. This may be a continuation of both books, which was not my intention. We’ll see how it all works.

Limit: Any ideas for a vacation?

Two glasses: I cannot bear the breaks. Life is about balance. I always like to write in the morning, I am out of balance when I am not writing or thinking of writing or creating. I don’t think it will be over soon, but the guy conspires and God laughs.

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