Televisa USA has woken Anne Rice’s “The Sleeping Beauty” books from their slumber and has acquired the English-language television and digital rights to the author’s popular erotica series.
The books, which were published in the 1980s under the pseudonym A.N. Roquelaure and went mainstream after the success of E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” series, follows a beautiful young princess who is awakened from her long sleep in a much more provocative way than the traditional fairytale.
“I wrote this to be fun, in the belief that dominance and submission can be romantic and delightful as well as erotic,” said Rice.
She will executive produce in partnership with producer Rachel Winter (“Dallas Buyers Club”), who first approached the famous “Interview With the Vampire” author about adapting the project in 2012. Endemol North America co-chairman-CEO Charlie Corwin (“Half Nelson,” “The Squid and the Whale”) and former CAA motion picture literary agent-turned-producer Jessica Matthews will also produce.
“Now is the perfect moment for this project,” said Televisa CCO Michael Garcia, who made the announcement with managing director Paul Presburger. “On the heels of such boundary-pushing adaptations as ‘Fifty Shades’ and HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones,’ the topics explored in this series are in the zeitgeist and we feel television is finally ready for them. We are now going out to writers and talent, and will put all the creative, production and distribution elements in place quickly.”
Ryan Likes, chief of operations and business affairs for Televisa USA, said, “We have worked diligently to secure rights to the most prized and highest-profile properties from both our parent company and outside rights holders. It is exciting to see all of that effort coming to fruition, starting with the brilliant works of an icon like Anne Rice.”
