In August 2023, author Carly Fortune confirmed a rumor which had been circulating at the time: Netflix purchased the rights to her novel Meet Me at the Lake, with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attached to produce the project through Archewell Productions. As of this moment, the film adaptation has gone nowhere. I don’t even think any screenwriter has been hired to adapt a script, there’s no casting or director attached, nothing. A Netflix executive did cite Meet Me at the Lake as one of the Sussexes’ upcoming projects back in February of this year, but again… there’s been zero news and zero movement on this. Now Page Six has a “Hollywood source” questioning if the book will ever be adapted.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s remaining Netflix projects may be on ice as their exclusive multi-million dollar deal comes to an end, Page Six is told. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced with great fanfare, back in August 2023, that they were producing a film adaptation of Carley Fortune’s hit romance novel, “Meet Me at the Lake” for the streamer.
But we’re told Archewell productions has yet to hire a director or come anywhere close to picking a cast. Netflix is believed to have paid out around $3 million for the rights to the book for the duo to produce.
“By this point, you would have thought they would have got a director on board and a cast. So what is the delay?” asked a Hollywood source. “And when you make something for Netflix, it takes a long time for it to actually hit the streamer — there is so much to do in post production, to make sure it’s ready for every country. If the deal is up this year, then when is this film going to be made?”
The couple were also working on a documentary set in Africa — albeit without Harry, 40, or Markle, 43, appearing. This, too, may be on the back burner.
“What’s the betting that neither of these projects will see the light of day?” said a source in the know.
As Page Six previously reported, the Sussexes’ Netflix deal will end this year, and the couple may move to a first-look contract, like President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle’s production company, Higher Ground, has. This week, sources were quick to tell us, however, that there will be more TV shows from the renegade royals.
Y’all don’t want to hear what I have to say, so I’ll mostly just keep my mouth shut. But …two years is a long time for absolutely nothing to happen to a project which was hand-delivered to Harry and Meghan. Granted, the Sussexes like to release completed projects, so it’s possible they’ve been moving quietly in preproduction, or that they’re having issues finding a screenwriter or something like that. But there’s absolutely nothing to indicate that there’s been any movement for the past two years. From the outside looking in, it seems like the property is just sitting there untouched. I’m also curious about Harry’s Africa documentary, because we’ve heard rumors about that for years, and then… nothing. They could clear a lot of this up with some public statements about it.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807665120, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807665364, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807665423, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807665624, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807665722, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807665747, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807665836, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
Don’t a lot of book to film adaptations take time to make? Maybe I’m wrong.
People also sometimes buy the rights and wait on it for any reason. A lot of production companies do that. It is nothing new.
The newest adaptation of Dune took 5 years from option to film.
I was questioning this in a comment when People published their article a that Netflix will not renew Harry and Meghan’s deal a couple of days ago.
Other commenters said that not all books where film rights were bought are actually produced, that it takes a long time to turn a book into a film and that Netflix might do a film specific deal with Harry and Meghan.
For me there are so many unfinished projects such as the film, the Africa project and Netflix involvement with As Ever that I believe even if the present deal will not renewed with the present terms there will be some kind of deal.
I strongly believe that Netflix, Harry and Meghan will make an announcement when they are ready to put all this to bed.
I hope it will be said that Meghan decided not to renew with netflix to concentrate on her product line, or that they are not renewing the theatrical side of business but more of the product line. And also, I am totally sick of seeing people destroying her every move for absolutely zero reason. This must be very hard for her, her family and her friends.
I think they had so many offers at once they may have overestimated their ability to deliver quality productions while also living their best lives, which are also the heart of everything they do.
With such a broad media focus initially it seems like they may have found their niche lies more within documentaries for Harry and lifestyle content for Meghan when shes not acting.
They should make moves to pass good material to the right people if they cant deliver but who knows what they have cooking.
One of my favorite book series’ TV/Film right was acquired at least a decade ago, and we fans of the books didn’t hear or read about any possible TVs/Films in the work even now.
As for Archewell, unlike that Family, they don’t like to announce things that’s half-cook; we didn’t hear about it doesn’t mean it did not happened in the background. Especially every person that has been linked to Meghan will be harassed no stop by Meghan haters, there’s no need for them to name the writer(s) until the scripts done.
H&M (especially Meghan) are put under unbelievable expectations & high standards, normal industrial percesures / timlines do not apply to them.
According to google I found this ‘It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact percentage, but a small fraction of book film rights ever get made into movies. While many books are optioned for film adaptations, only a small portion of those deals actually result in a produced film.’
And this ‘It’s common for a significant amount of time to pass between selling film rights to a book and the actual movie adaptation. There’s no set timeframe, as it depends on various factors, but it’s not unusual for years to elapse’
Of course this is just pointed out for Harry and Meghan.
This was discussed here yesterday. Wow! Page 6 simply regurgitates what people say here. Lol
Sure, their idea of news is “people on social media are saying…” There’s no reason why they wouldn’t include us, too.
“ “By this point, you would have thought they would have got a director on board and a cast. So what is the delay?” asked a Hollywood source.””
We are all Hollywood sources at this stage. 😏
Imagine if they had the same energy for the Lazies half-arse projects. But no, they keep focusing on two private individuals who refuse to heel to them.
This is the silly season for the rats.
There are a lot of books that are optioned and take much longer than two years to start moving, and even more than go nowhere. Anybody who really works in Hollywood would know that, even people who drive people around Hollywood would know that. Whoever is their “Hollywood source” is only proving they have no idea about Hollywood.
I agree. Meanwhile, the Left-Behind Lazies are on their 5th vacation since January, leaving a hefty carbon footprint on the Mediterranean seas and leaving others to do their “work” back home. I’d like to know how many goody bags of $ they will be gifted by their generous host.
Netflix owns the rights. If they think it’s a good property they can produce it, with or without Archewell.
As an avid reader, a lot of books get the rights for a movie and a lot don’t end up getting made. I read this book and it’s pretty boring. I don’t know why it would get made into a movie, her other books are a lot better.
Agree, nothing special there. A formula book and summer read.
Yeah, just based on books I’ve personally read that were then optioned, most of them don’t actually get made into shows/movies. Idk what the actual statistics are, but it’s happened enough that I don’t get too excited when a book I loved is optioned because it doesn’t come to fruition most of the time, even when they get further down the road into writing the script, casting, etc.
There’s a lot of stories lately trying to make things that are “normal” into a big deal just because Harry and Meghan are attached. Nothing new, necessarily, but there does seem to be quite an influx recently.
I’ve been waiting on the movie adaptation of Burial Rites by Hannah Kent that’s been in development hell since 2017 for Jennifer Lawrence and it’s had a couple directors attached to it. It’s actually better that it’s been delayed so long since Jennifer is the age Agnes should be now. I think people are just used to Netflix churning adaptations out regardless of the quality and this one might just be stuck in development, which is totally normal.
Same. Hilary Clinton bought the rights to Masie Dobbs and I was so bummed because I feel like inexperienced production companies take even longer to get things from rights to screen than the already long time it takes for the folks with experience doing it. Getting your book produced must be such a maddening experience for the writer.
Is this constant stream of negativity an attempt to goad them into action? Meghan has been very quiet for a few weeks; no new IG posts for the rats to feast on. They’re clearly getting nothing from W&K (not that they’re trying – if the two private individuals in Montecito were on a luxury yacht owned by someone shady, we’d never hear the end of it) so these two must oblige*
*Clearly forgetting H&M are no longer in the ‘we pay, you perform’ business.
Probably. They’re banned from reporting on the leeches so they’re trying to incite the Sussexes again.
I don’t think the documentary was ever confirmed and buying rights to books that never get made happens all the time in Hollywood.
Sometimes movies get stuck in development hell, see the Notebook which took almost a decade to get made, but i dont think the deal coming to an end, if it is, would kill the movie. The overall deal was to ensure that they couldn’t sell new projects to other studios; they already sold this to Netflix who paid millions for the book. I highly doubt Netflix would just drop it especially since the author commented positively about it a few months ago. Didn’t ryan murphy have some projects he was working on with fox release after he signed with netflix(same with shonda and abc)? Just because a deal ends it doesnt mean that all the projects just die(though i do think that africa project isn’t happening)
Also we all know that WLM season 2 and the new sparkling wine(backed by Netflix) will be coming out in the next month or so so I’m wondering if that’s why they haven’t said anything; they’re waiting to confirm release dates for these new projects in official statements.
I don’t know how this works so maybe this is dumb, but is “buying the rights” ever used as an investment? Like how people buy real estate and sit on it to sell it for a profit later? Maybe that’s what they wanted to do.
No, that’s not a thing. Book options are for a set period of time (usually 18 months with several options to extend built into the contract). The production company or studio has to pay for each renewal. Even if the book rights are “purchased” it is only for a set period of time, generally five years. This protects the author from exactly what you’ve described — a company sitting on the rights to their work with no intention of developing it.
As far as this book is concerned, the writers’ strike almost certainly delayed the process of attaching a writer and getting a script, and it’s incredibly normal for development to take years. This article was clearly written in bad faith! Most companies are lucky if they “convert” 20% of their slate from development to actual production. Most projects simply never get made and the cost of developing much more than you convert is baked into the business.
Kaiser, I have had productions wait 8 years before being greenlit. I wouldn’t read much into this 🫶🏻
IIRC Netflix bought the rights to this? Not Archewell Productions. It could be sitting in limbo while NF & the Sussexes flesh out their partnership going forward. I’m on a soft pencil for 4 productions rn. It’s a feast or famine time in our industry rn
We’ve got 2 Colleen Hoover romcom / romdrama book adaptations coming out in the next few months. Maybe people are adapting a wait and see approach
G-d knows most of us in the global film industry are with TACO tariffs
They could have just decided not to go ahead with making it into a movie. People buy the rights to movies a lot that don’t get made because they don’t want other people to make them because they think it’s a good idea.I’m speaking from personal experience because my college roommate is a successful screenwriter, meaning she had a number one movie last year. Do you know how many scripts she has sold that haven’t been produced?
I’m really starting to believe that a lot of people don’t actually know how Hollywood works even though they want to comment on it. Because a lot of this stuff isn’t odd at all but they make it seem like it’s odd for Harry and Meghan. It’s starting to feel like people won’t be happy unless Harry and Meghan live stream every business meeting they have, like that’s professional or like any other production company works like that. The tabloids reporting on stuff because they’re nosy and because Harry and Meghan are their money makers and people act like their lack of communication is because they are doing something abnormal and not because the tabloids are. I’ll ask this question, do you know where Reese Witherspoon’s production company is working on right now? Do you know what the Obama’s Higher Ground is working on right now? No, why not? Is it because the tabloids aren’t asking?
I dont know what Reese’s production company is working on because I don’t care, lol. There’s a lot more interest in H&M so there’s going to be more of a spotlight.
That’s exactly what I’m saying though. Having a higher spotlight on you doesn’t mean that you need to change professional communication and operational strategies. They aren’t operating any differently than any other production company, and people wanting to know is not a good reason to have contract negotiations and business dealings in the press.
I get that people worry about tabloids setting narratives but these dealings are actual business deals, I wouldn’t feel comfortable working with a company where every single conversation we have ends up in the press because a Media group has a hate boner for them.
But that is exactly the problem – the tabloids are setting the narratives. and its not just british tabloids trying to fill columns bc the royals are on vacation. It’s seeping in the US press as well. So yes, I would argue that they do need to change their communication strategies a bit.
People on here are really tense about it. People are getting snippy. There’s a lot more cutting remarks (verging on rude) than there usually are. And I think its because we’re all kind of on edge because of all these stories. i would love for a snarky comment from the Sussex team to kind of clear the air a bit. And the Sussex team DOES issue statements and they DO respond to some tabloid stories, so its not an impossible thing in this situation either.
People say Spotify was bad bc of Bill Simmons but they forget that the Spotify situation was bad BEFORE that. The press around it was really bad. Bill Simmons was the cherry on top, but not the whole sundae. so when we say “we don’t want to see a repeat of that” we don’t just mean Bill Simmons.
(I dont know where that metaphor came from haha.)
There are a lot of people on here who have been big sussex supporters from the beginning (raises hand.) it’s not concern trolling to see these stories and think “eek.” I get that others view it differently but it doesnt make either side wrong.
That’s the thing for me though I feel like we’re in a endless loop of this every single summer. And it’s never enough no matter what they do, or don’t do, because the tabloid media won’t let it be enough, there’s plenty of American Media that has realized that they get clicks because they’re seen as more “respectable” then people that have lost literal court cases against Harry and Meghan and are doing the same thing.
When they do respond they just flip the script and make it about something else. And to me I guess I just don’t see the point because I feel like I said yesterday we’re seeing consequences to actions that aren’t really being reflected.
Who knows, maybe this time it really will be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Maybe this time they won’t be able to get more business dealings, maybe this time it’ll be too much and as ever won’t sell out for the fourth release like it did for the first three, maybe this time With Love Meghan wont set SM trends for weeks after the initial drop. But I remember the Spotify summer and people talking about how people weren’t going to want to do deals with them and how it was going to ruin them, and none of that happened.
And I agree people have been getting super snippy here, and I just don’t understand why because I feel like we’ll be having this same conversation in July of 2026. I think I may actually take screenshots of this comment lol.
There is a lot of lack of context when these two are discussed, especially when compared to the length of time it takes other productions to get made.
Any movie that isn’t a superhero franchise usually takes several years from the time the rights are purchased to when the film is made.
This is the tabloids trying to create something because they aren’t talking about the UAE foreign minister “lending” his superyacht, a clear conflict of interest for the future uk head of state.
Even if tabloids are setting a narrative that doesn’t mean that people have to respond before they are ready. If any renewal terms are still being negotiated any legal team would be advising no press releases etc until at minimum key terms are agreed & ideally not until an agreement is signed. This isn’t like gossip about h&m relationship etc this is about a business partnership & the other party has to be on board as well with response or they could embarrass themselves. I remember people saying they should have coordinated with the mayors office & NYPD on the chase statement for similar reasons after they played down the incident.
In this case Netflix isn’t commenting & as I said on the other post even uk broadsheets like the times, telegraph or guardian or other trashy US press like the daily beast or Newsweek who love negative stories on h&m haven’t reported it so I don’t think it’s as big a story as some fear & possibly because the media know a formal announcement of continuing relationship with the Sussexes is coming. Even the tabloids & people mag suggest this.
The difference with Spotify is Spotify leaked to WSJ they weren’t renewing archetypes & that put h&m on the back foot. Even though they then did a joint statement about ending the relationship, Spotify then leaked about not meeting performance targets. Initially the wsj had a line about creative differences which was removed & then bill Simmons piped up. So that is what put the Sussexes on the back foot & I agree they should have offered their version of what even Spotify producers were saying about them having good ideas that Spotify was rejecting etc . But on other hand I understand not getting into a fight with Spotify who were happy to leak eg on alleged podcast ideas when they are already in high profile fight with the monarchy & much of the uk press. At some point it looks like you are the problem, public fights are exhausting & It’s not good if you want to pursue other business relationships etc. obviously they weren’t going to respond to some loud mouth shock jock
In any event Netflix is being quiet on the latest development & their execs have spoken positively of the relationship & performance of the docuseries so it’s not like the Spotify situation. Bela the content exec said about a year ago that they had a number of projects in development incl a movie which was good. I imagine we’ll hear more when Netflix is ready
“ It’s starting to feel like people won’t be happy unless Harry and Meghan live stream every business meeting they have”
Yup, they want The Truman Show on the Sussexes.
i dont think they would have bought the rights unless there was genuine interest in producing it (i.e. I dont think this is a case of buying the rights “just in case” someone wants it down the line or something.) So my guess is any delay is not on H&M. I know Netflix is producing a bunch of book-based romances right now (Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood and another Carly fortune, I think a few others) so maybe they’re waiting to see how those play out before going forward with this one?
Something that they have referenced is that the rights were purchased around the time the writers and actors strike was going on. Those strikes significantly delayed all productions at different levels.
If this was a situation where every project gets filmed within two years from when the rights are purchased then sure something can be considered to be going slow, but industry people not invested in trashing H and M will say this isn’t unusual.
It’s a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing coming from that media island right now.
I am not an expert on any of this and I find it funny that the Hollywood Reporter who are supposed to be experts in some regard only questioned it after reading on social media and Celebitchy. They themselves said that it takes lime and yet only mentioned its timeframe after others here and social media mentioned it. So again, as a non expert, I will wait patiently about something I know nothing about to happen, if and when they want it to happen. There have been lots of shows or movies that I’ve patiently waited for and this movie adaption is no different.
“renegade” not a nice term, why not tell the truth. Driven out of the country by those at the top not liking a mixed race American royal near the top of the system.
I feel like a bad Sussex supporter and a bad Canadian for saying this, but I couldn’t finish “Meet Me at the Lake”. Maybe it’s my ADHD, but it is just way too slow for me. “Oh I’m so forelorn running this resort after my mom died and now he’s the business dude I have a past with and can’t possibly handle it, why? Well the next chapter takes us to our time in Toronto when he was a cool dude not a business dude and will provide some answers. Past chapter in Toronto: (no answers). The book keeps doing this for like 13 chapters and you get nowhere! Ugh! I had to put it down. Anyway, if you liked it that’s fine. But slow burns that go nowhere are not my thing.
You just explained why it may be taking so long. If they have to fix the story so it works as a film better, the adaptation would be more complicated and require concessions from the author on plot changes even before the screenplay is completed.
Very true!
Hello, fellow bad Canadian! This wasn’t my jam either. Have you read “The Catch” by Amy Lea? Much faster pacing, set in a Nova Scotia bnb, highly recommend!
Thanks! I will definitely try that as my next read!
Yes! I nabbed this from the library when this news dropped last year and thought the entire book was awful.
This! I eye rolled for 13 chapters which I think is a fair college try. LOL
I’m trying to read it now, actually. I bought a copy because I heard they optioned it. And honestly, it’s boring–lacks tension, the romance is drab, the characters are vaguely drawn. If they decided not to make it into a movie, well, I think that was a smart choice.
You’re not a bad Canadian! I’m Canadian too and I thought Meet Me At The Lake was… middling. I get the Toronto angle and that rom-coms are returning, but I’m honestly surprised Meghan picked THIS book out of all the books in the world to buy the rights for. It’s not anything spectacular but Carley Fortune is big on BookTok right now, so it might be a smart investment for them in the end. But this book lacks depth.
Haven’t read this book, but this applies to some films I’ve watched based on books. I enjoy the Bridegerton tv series but I couldn’t even get through the first book. Just not my style. If they do get it off the ground, hope they get a good script and adapt it well.
I always figured the Toronto setting may have played a part?
Honestly..we can discuss why the British media is reporting so much on this and all their nefarious reasons, but they point still stands that this will be soon picked up by trade papers if there is not a response. We were all excited when the new comms person was hired for this very reason… a quick nip in the bud response could avoid further amplification by the rest of the media. Nobody is asking to share details of the contract negotiations but shutting down some stuff might be helpful.
In an ideal world, there would be more “neutral” media reporting on the Suxesses like this website where we could discuss some of the issues they have been facing. For example, some people mentioned yesterday that Meghan seems to have issues with the direction of her brands in terms of its growth and I agreed. I think she is facing the growing pains of building a successfull brand except that hers is scrutinised to an insane amount. Imo it would be helpful if she didn’t highlight those growing pains so much in interviews etc. For example talking about focusing only on the brand and not going forward with the podcast despite talking about how she was thinking about another seasons and having founders reach out to her to be featured.
Of course book adaptations take time, it is normal. But unlike the speculation about the Africa documentary and a feminist tv show reimagining Great Expectations, Meet Me At The Lake was actually officially announced. Yet they are letting a huge time gap happening between the announcement and the actualization. This gap is filled with negative speculation. I am really sad that this is happening. There is now also speculation about a Diana documentary on the 30th anniversary of her death executive produced and narrated by Harry which is causing more negative stories.
Meet me by the lake wasn’t officially announced. Only projects that Netflix & Archewell have ever announced was Pearl (which was then cancelled), Heart of Invictus, Harry & Meghan, Live to lead, Heart of Invictus, Polo and With Love Meghan. The author just did interviews that H&M had optioned the adaption rights. Netflix haven’t even said if it had been greenlit. Last year Bela from Netflix commented that H&M had a bunch of projects in development including a movie which she said was great. I think most assume it was meet me at the lake she referred to.
If there’s a new Diana documentary story (I haven’t seen it) that was recycled from last year. I actually think a lot of these articles is to try & force H&M /Netflix to say what they are working on. The royalist press are used to being insiders & don’t like knowing what Harry & Meghan are up to . Meghan being able to announce As ever herself & must have been maddening for them
I think there is way too much hysteria in these comments considering the lack of real info. On the movie, there has been no published timeline for production. These things take years to do. For example Castle Rock announced a much reported remake of This is Spinal Tap at least five years ago. No movie yet. That is how the business works. And they kick around 100 times more projects than get to the screen in any year. All we know is that we do not know. And H&M have a private company with no obligation to tell us anything unless they decide it is to their advantage to do so. They obviously have, so folks should calm down and defer to their judgment on how to run their business. It has been working so far and I see no indication that it will not as they go forward.
I don’t feel like i am qualified to know whether two years is a long time to get something in preproduction or not, but I feel like Hollywood is littered with unproduced ideas.
I feel like we are falling into a trap.
And even if the Sussexes “fail” at this. It is fine.
Still rich, still making money in various avenues. Still trying to figure out a life they had never planned for.
Harry was, from birth, part of a lifelong family job of charity events and toxic press battles.
Meghan was a working actress who spent her breaks doing charity work, writing op eds, being part of Unicef.
She too thought they would be in the royal family for life.
When the future is pulled away from you, don’t you get grace.
And don’t give me- but its been five years!
they haven’t stood still. They have been doing things and trying things and working, and if anyone else had a deal end- it would not be talked about endlessly as a failure.
Paraphrasing something i saw on threads last night: when toxic people lose control of you, they NEED to control how other people see you.
And that is what we are seeing.
Maybe adapting films is just not a thing that they are good at doing.
They will move on to something else.
Frankly, i am almost out of raspberry jam. I’m going to need her to focus on restock of that item.
It is 5 years. 2 of these years with a pandemic. A writers/actors strike.
5 years in which they had to find their footing, welcomed a 2nd baby, produced 2 podcasts, 2 books, 4 documentaries and one show for Netflix, toured Colombia and Nigeria, had 2 Invictus Games, spoke on several high level panels. Worked with their charities, gave interviews, had two courtsuits. Still working for BetterUp and Travalyst, starting a new business.
The media will write them down as they do every day. With always the same headlines. Everyone hates them, A listers don’t want to be seen with them, their friends leave them, their agency fired them, Netflix doesn’t want to work with them. No other studio will touch them. Rinse and repeat, throw in “Now Harry will REALLY come back, they are broke and will divorce!”.
Why would/should their PR team respond? The media won’t change these stories. The US media learned that there is money in hating Meghan, and they usually use British “experts” for their articles, or, as the German trash media, simply copy and paste. They won’t stop. Not this year, not in 10 years, as long as these headlines sell.
Maybe we should all take a deep breath and quit the speculation game? If there is something to announce, they will do so. Until then, why is this any different now? Why do we need constant updates? If their PR team reacts, will this put a stop to media speculation? Didn’t work before, did it?
I am content to wait, for a new Instagram post, for an official announcement, for As Ever going global, for the next seasons of WLM. For whatever Harry has in his pipeline.
@Lurker: I’m with you!
I understand what everyone here, especially the best analysts like Dee, Becks, Blogger, Jais, Eurydice et al are saying, not to mention Kaiser. But I think your take is spot on.
Here’s my thought: clearly H&M are on a break, given the lack of Instagram posts. Good for them, I hope they’re off with their kids having a wonderful time!
The only thing I would say is that going forward, this is a good time for their comms team to note that it might be a good idea in future to have some things in the bank for times like this.
Maybe Meghan really only wants her Insta to be organic and in the moment, that would be perfectly in line with her character and if so that’s absolutely valid.
BUT can you imagine what the conversation would be right now if they had dropped that Baby Mama video this week, or last? She held that beautiful diamond in her vault for FOUR YEARS.
If they had banked a couple of fun posts with their team to be dropped while they’re on vacation, it would have served as a counterweight to the Standard Summer British Bash-Fest and given outlets like People something else to talk about.
Just a thought.
Happy Summer, y’all! ☀️☀️🏵🌿
BTW, has TACO released the Epstein files yet? #Resist 💙💙💙
Ha! I have very little analysis for this. Mostly just feeling very wait and see. I’m not the best at discussing Sussex pr strategies. Agree with the break vibe. It’s July. My pet theory is the whole family is in Botswana and they would need to climb a tree to get any cell service and poor Meredith is pacing back and forth somewhere. Adding onto my purely made-up theory, the Sun also had a feeling that they were on a break this week and strategically dropped it to mess with them and control the narrative. Or the sussexes are just saying f-ck it and choosing not to respond, as is their right, and bc they know whatever announcement they have coming up is going to override all of this. Or sure the sussexes are just a mess and ruining this pr moment. Guess we’ll see.
They don’t have to say anything to us about it. We only learned about With Love Meghan a few months before it was released. Everyone is turning into Tyra Banks-we were rooting for you dammit! What exactly is the issue here? That the Sussexes are quiet at the moment or that they’re not feeding the news cycle?
Agree. Their deal runs until September (allegedly) so they probably can’t say anything until it runs out and a new deal (if any) is finalized. Right now they are quiet which could mean something is coming in the fall. I feel like we will know more in the coming months.
I could have SWORN that there were reports last year that the Sussexes’ adaptation of Meet me at the Lake was already in production??? And that the author was pleased with how things were going? What is this sudden swing into claiming that nothing has happened in two years?
It seems to me that the tabloids and Murdoch press and their assorted hangers on (People Mag, etc.) have been told, or collectively decided to focus on H+M instead of on William and Kate frolicking on an environmentally unfriendly highly polluting private jet and supersize freebie yacht holiday during a cost of living crisis. The conclusion that the “5-year” deal is “coming to an end” and their NOT knowing what the Sussexes have planned next is leading them to check off all the things they knew that H+M had been working on and trying to get “sources” to dismiss them in order to support their fraudulent narrative that H+M will soon be bringing out the begging bowl.
And people are falling for it. LOOK at the sources of these scaremongering articles. Look at the inconsistencies and contradictions in every “article”. They appear to be trying to convince an audience of ONE that H+M are failing. Just like those emotional support polls.
And remember that H+M run a tight ship. As the princess said: YOUR urgency is not MY urgency. They are doing the right thing by NOT running to comment on every single narrative these starving tabloids spread. We can afford to be patient and wait and see what’s next in their chapter. They are on holiday, and they do not need to make any announcements to satisfy clickbaiters.
Jeezuz! Chill out, People! Their projects will role out when they role out! I’m amazed at how much they’ve done thus far, especially considering the enormous headwinds coming from that salty island. Meghan has had a phenomenal year — and it’s summer still. What have Will and Kate done this year, except for a few public engagements eclipsed by their relentless vacations? How can they keep justifying their taxpayer income?
I don’t know anything about marketing or movie development or the like but I have an opinion as someone on the outside looking in: neither Meghan nor Harry should announce any film product that they have interest in or acquired. After production and reviews they should come out and say that the pseudonyms “Barry and Heghan” are actually them. Then radio silence again.
I agree with that. Just like blind taste tests for as ever it would be interesting to see reviews of content if people didn’t know H&M were attached.
But with meet me at the lake H&M never announced anything. It’s the author who spoke out about h&m buying the rights & speaking to Meghan & an Archewell exec about it
Sorry but I don’t think the coverage of this story is accurate. If I’m reading correctly, Archewell was *attached* to the production. That means that Netflix *engages* them and calls the shots as the actual production company. That means that any delay is not on the part of Archewell, it’s on Netflix. They bought the rights and attached them, but they are under no obligation to actually make the project.
The writer’s strike was 2023, so unsure if the rights to Fortune’s book were bought before, during or after. PLUS there are more books by the author. If Duchess M is doing her own reality show, developing scripted TV as a producer, doing podcasts, developing physical products, she might be spread too thin. Each of those ventures on their own is a lot.
The Heart of Invictus was actually good, I heard Polo was good, and the historical context of their first series was so good, the obvious follow up was Harry doing a truth, reconciliation and reparations tour to the Commonwealth in a 6 x 50 m episode series. H and M hire good people
Look, unless the information comes from Harry and Meghan’s camp, why even bother!
I’m exhausted by these people. I can’t imagine how Harry and Meghan must feel. Meghan could cure cancer, end poverty, and create cold fusion in a crockpot while Harry walked barefoot across molten lava–singlehandedly holding off the Antichrist as he heralded the second coming of Jesus Christ and these effing people would complain that their dead Queen didn’t like her shoes. My effing gawd! Don’t they get exhausted? I’m exhausted!
William and Kate–two worthless, nepo-baby billionaires who make money off of children’s CANCER and who do absolutely nothing for anybody but themselves–are circling Greece on somebody else’s yacht, likely breaking all sorts of British financial laws, and it’s crickets.
IT’S EFFING EXHAUSTING!
#ETR
My sister, niece and me have been into TSITP. But The rights from book to screen was secured in 2013. Took 8-9 years for season 1 to finally come to screen. Still a good bet for the streamer and studios as it’s been #1 for Prime and always getting a lot of hits on SM.
I feel like so many romance books to screen adaptations are coming this year, My Oxford Year, Map that leads to you, people we meet on vacation etc but it still took a good 4-5 years until we’re able to get to see on screen.
Agree with the comments above, what’s the point of this article unless it’s to Deflect . shouldn’t they worry more about their leftovers in their own country, they’re the ones that keep vacationing on Taxpayers money 🙄.
Much ado about nothing. If anyone thinks that the bm have honest to G*d sources that really know anything, I have Ocean view property in the middle of the US to sell you. The bm are like Trump … distract, distract, distract. The brf isn’t doing anything, because they’re all on vacation, so the bm goes hard after H&M. Every Summer. The extremely expensive ‘gift’ of their present voyage from an official of a foreign government means the bm have to provide cover for the heir. I wonder when the bm will grow a pair.