Katie
Katie asked Lev Grossman:

I just read an article that SyFy ordered a greenlight of The Magicians. Can you tell us anything about that? I was actually really disappointed to hear the books were wanted to television. I could see the major networks really bingeing them to life, but I've never been terribly impressed with Fox/SyFy. Have you ever been approached for movies?

Lev Grossman I spent five years talking to people in Hollywood about The Magicians, and almost all the interest was from TV people. I think the sheer quantity of plot in the books scared people off: too much happens, and the events are too load-bearing. It would get too squashed if you tried to tell the story and explain the world in 2 hours.

I also suspect -- though I don't know -- that it would be a big bet for a movie studio, financially. Magic's not cheap, and while the Magicians books are popular, they're not Twilight-popular. There isn't a guaranteed blockbuster audience. Whereas with TV the economics are different, and they can build popularity as they go.
Lev Grossman
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