Variety reports that British spy writer and politician Jeffrey Archer has signed a "slate deal" with production company New Franchise encompassing ten of the author's novels. According to the trade, Jeffrey Steiner's New Franchise "was formed expressly to secure and develop the rights to Archer's works." That model sounds quite a bit like Captivate Entertainment, which was formed expressly to develop Robert Ludlum's library for film and television, but has since expanded into original content as well. The major difference, of course, is that Archer is still alive to reap the benefits of whatever film deals New Franchise manages to set up. Variety reports that titles covered in the deal "include action crime-caper False Impression and a spy-thriller trilogy based on A Matter of Honor, Honor Among Thieves and The Eleventh Commandment." I don't think I've ever read anything by Archer, but I'm intrigued. New spy movies are always welcome, and A Matter of Honor sounds pretty cool...
