Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are developing a Netflix film after purchasing the rights to a multi-million-pound novel. The purchase is thought to have cost USD 3 million, but it might serve as a springboard for the pair to rebuild in Hollywood. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have purchased the cinematic rights to the bestselling love novel Meet Me At The Lake by Carley Fortune. This will be their first off-camera collaboration together.
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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will go into film production
According to the UK’s Sun newspaper, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will produce a film adaptation of a Canadian author’s book with a plot that bears more than a passing resemblance to their own lives.
This initiative is a departure from their previous endeavors, which included documentary filmmaking and book publishing. It will be part of their purported $100 million contract with Netflix.
Meanwhile, Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune, published in May of this year, follows the narrative of a couple who met in their thirties and deals with themes of childhood trauma, such as losing a parent in a car accident, mental health issues, and post-natal depression.
The novel takes place near Toronto, where Meghan lived when she began her connection with Harry while working on the legal program Suits. The drama’s production will encounter the same problems as every other filmmaker in Hollywood, namely a strike by both authors and performers.
An insider revealed to The Sun that “The themes gripped the couple, and it was chosen for their first Netflix adaptation.”
How much did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spend to buy the rights to the book?
According to the publication, the rights to the book, which sold 37,000 copies in its first week and spent two weeks on the New York Times top ten list, might have cost the couple’s production firm $3.8 million. Penguin Random House previously released Prince Harry’s autobiography, Spare. It’s Fortune’s second book.
If the project is successful, it will strengthen the couple’s relationship with Netflix, which has been rumored to be under threat despite the popularity of last year’s record-breaking documentary series documenting their grievances with royal life. This month also sees the premiere of Prince Harry’s documentary, Heart of Invictus.
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