In life, author E. Lynn Harris mystified us: That a gay black man in America develop such a loyal following among black women writing books about other black men hiding their sexuality was, unarguably, a phenomenon. In death, Harris (the “E.” stands for “Everette”) perplexes us: With 14 books under his belt (two yet to be published), is his estate worth hundreds of millions of dollars?
It’s not necessarily the print royalties that will keep the cash flowing for years (though it won’t hurt), but Harris’ decision to move forward with movie projects based on his books. The Harris brand — DVDs, books, movies, and Broadway musicals (!) — falls into the $100-250 million range, according to unexplained math performed by BET. But even if that estimate is ridiculously generous, Harris’ creations are worth a fortune.
And he was on his way to cashing in just before his death.
So will we finally see Harris’ work on the silver screen? Well, the answer literally was being played out a few weeks ago until the day the bestselling author died. Despite fainting on a train en route to Tinseltown to solidify his book-to-movie dreams, Harris typed that he was “soldiering on” in a text message to an assistant. Once he arrived in Los Angeles, he met with producer Tracey Edmonds just hours before he died.
One insider reports that Harris “basically blessed the project” for the film adaptation of “Invisible Life,” his first novel, which shot Harris to fame in 1994. There are reportedly also two finished scripts, one which focuses on the college years and the other on the New York City years of characters Raymond, Nicole and Basil.
Other finished scripts include “Not A Day Goes By” and “I Say A Little Prayer.” In September, the novel “Mama Dearest,” which is the follow-up to “Not A Day Goes By,” hits bookstores. And the first of a new book series Harris had just created titled, “The Bentley Chronicles,” arrives in 2010.
Except it may not be Harris’ family who decides the fate of his works — but the corporation who bought the rights.
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According to one Hollywood source close to the author, “a few years ago he sold off all of his rights and was really acting as a creative partner in these projects.” Hence the legacy of one of America’s foremost African-American authors, who adeptly explored the intersection of race, sexuality and spirituality, lies within the hands of an unknown corporate entity.
“Getting there is going to be the tricky part,” explains famous Hollywood attorney Nina Shaw. She cautions that the “upswing” can be achieved, but it will depend chiefly upon “how strategic and how sophisticated his estate and executors ultimately are in their ability to traverse the landscape in the entertainment industry.”
Maybe Harris is the next Tyler Perry — albeit posthumously. And out.
SouLKid
Of cause Queer-ters aint gonna say anything.Which says a lot about the bunch of you.
Eitherway, R.I.P Harris.I hope they do his books justice if they decide to make movies.
afrolito
Most of the white gays who overrun this board, live in their own gay ghetto bubble, so i’m not surprised to be the second post on this story.
As far as Harris goes, may he R.I.P. I never read his his work, but I know he indeed does have a huge fanbase, so I can totally believe his estate could generate a few hundred million over time.
RainaWeather
I’ve never read his work but I have heard his name often, so I can imagine that his estate would be worth a lot.
Tari
No one commented on this because the topic is just ridiculous! Mr. Harris was a English Professor at a University, Talk about the students he left behind, talk about the many he touched through his writing, but to talk about how much money he stand to make is uncouth and I couldn’t even read the entire blurb because it is just asinine and I refuse to believe that out of all of Mr. Harris accomplishment this is all that Queerty could come up with.
osocubano
Never heard of him, and i can’t imagine who the audience would be for these films.
Guess I’ll just wait and find out.
Nunya Bizness
@ OSOCUBANO
The unimagined audience would be the same as that audience who loved (and is missing) Noah’s Arc (however, cheesey it may have been)…. those who felt at least a loose representation of themselves in the characterization.
I wasn’t a big fan of E. Lynn’s books (for the same reasons that I don’t care much for Soap Operas); however, when “Invisible Life” first emerged, I was only 19 years old and was just learning to work with my homo “training wheels” in life.
While I found the story and the character development a bit lacking — I was happy to have a popular novel that reflected the potential positives and negatives (albeit, fictionalized) of the path that I was just beginning to travel. Prior to that reading (and even though I had always had an appetite for the hidden indications within Tennessee Williams’ works) — for the first time ever I realized that I wasn’t completely alone on that path.
Thusly, I have always applauded E. Lynn Harris’ every effort — and I continue to do so after his death. If they bring any of his work to screen — my friends and I (gay, straight, white, black and all in-between) will support it.
rudy
@afrolito:
You’re criticizing whites for not posting anything about Harris while you admit having never read any of his books yourself?