Warner Bros. wins Fevered Weekend Auction for TJ Newman Novel Drowning: The Rescue Of Flight 1421; The deal hits $1.5 million against $3 million

EXCLUSIVE: In one of the wildest book rights auctions the city has seen in ages, Warner Bros. co-producers Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy tonight secured the film rights to TJ Newman’s upcoming novel. Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421. Studio paid $1.5 million to $3 million, and five seven-figure bids were on the table, sources said.

This is the second gripping thriller set in the aviation world and written by Newman, who was a flight attendant when she wrote her debut novel. fall, which was sold in three 7-figure deals: a global publishing deal with Avid Reader/Simon & Schuster; foreign rights in more than 30 countries; and a $1.5 million film deal with Universal and Working Title. The debut novel has become Simon & Schuster’s fastest-selling debut novel since 2004.

In her second novel Drown, a plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean six minutes after takeoff and is submerged after an explosion during evacuation. A dozen survivors sink into an enclosed section of the plane as things turn dangerously dangerous on a submarine cliff 200 feet below the surface. Including an engineer and his 11-year-old daughter. His estranged wife – who is also the girl’s mother – is part of the elite rescue team scrambling to save the passengers before they run out of air.

As Deadline revealed last Tuesday, the book leaked in Hollywood and the page turner quickly resonated with potential buyers. Among those circling in the heat were Steven Spielberg, Alfonso Cuaron, Damien Chazelle, Nicole Kidman, The Russo Brothers, M. Night Shyamalan, and producers such as Jerry Bruckheimer, Peter Chernin and 21 Laps. The bidding came down to five bids: Apple with Jerry Bruckheimer; Paramount with Damien Chazelle; Warner Brothers; Legendary and universal television.

The film is produced by Shane Salerno and The Story Factory. Salerno clashed with Newman when she filled in downtime on flights as a flight attendant and wrote an in-flight thriller, only to be rejected by 41 agents. Newman will executive produce Drowning, which will be released by Simon & Schuster on May 30.

It’s a quick win for Warner Bros., whose DeLuca and Abdy want to make big films that can hit the big screen worldwide. Drown play a powerful role for the rescuer/mother and engineer/father who fight to keep their daughter alive. It’s the kind of film that the late director Wolfgang Petersen made in his prime.

The Story Factory and CAA brokered the sale. By the way, the author is no longer a flight attendant, so she can write books full time. She is also editing her debut novel fallher first screenplay.