Rick French’s negotiating skills should come in handy.
The founder and CEO of PR agency French/West/Vaughan is currently meeting with a handful of major Hollywood studios regarding financing the film based on the 2010 best seller Not Without Hope.
French, the film’s executive producer, is in negotiation mode as the film’s original studio, Relativity Media, faces bankruptcy proceedings.
“When you have a best selling book being turned into a movie with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, you get [film] studios calling you,” French said, adding that he expects to have a done deal within the next few weeks. “We’ll take our time and figure out which is the best partner to make this movie with.” He would not name the studios.
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French's connection with the movie stems from his agency's representation of Nick Schuyler, who wrote “Not Without Hope.”
Schuyler, a former star football player at the University of South Florida, was the sole survivor of a tragic boating accident in the Gulf of Mexico in which three of his friends—Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, Detroit Lions defensive end and former N.C. State University star Corey Smith and Will Bleakey, who played football at the University of South Florida—died.
French subsequently brokered a book deal for Schuyler, who wrote about Not Without Hope with New York Times sportswriter Jere Longman.
“As someone who shapes and tells stories everyday on behalf of our clients, it hasn’t felt like a stretch to take those same skills and apply them to filmmaking, in great part to protect the integrity of Nick’s story and pay tribute to his friends who perished,” French told O’Dwyer’s.
In addition to Hollywood producer, you can put “professional sports team owner” on French’s resume. He recently became a partner with the Daytona Tortugas, the Class-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.
Where does the man find the time?
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