TMZ.com
T.J. Newman is on a journey from flight attendant to Hollywood scriptwriter — she wrote a book that became a bestseller, and now her second novel is getting turned into a screenplay, creating a bidding war in the process.
T.J. joined us on “TMZ Live” and told us all about her new book, “Drowning,” which comes out today … telling us why her story is so coveted by movie studios and big-shot Hollywood producers.
Like her best-selling debut “Falling,” T.J.’s new novel takes place on an airplane … with the jetliner crashing into the ocean after taking off from Hawaii, trapping passengers in a cabin as it sinks beneath the waves. It’s aviation’s version of the famous “Poseidon Adventure.”
T.J. says she wanted to write about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances … and there was a bidding war for the movie rights, pittingNicole Kidman against the likes of Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer, plus the usual movie studio suspects.
In the end, Warner Bros. emerged victorious … shelling out $3 million and bringing T.J. along for the ride as an executive producer.
This makes T.J. 2-for-2 in Hollywood — her first novel, “Falling,” is also being turned into a movie after flying off the shelves … Universal Pictures paid $1.5 million for the movie rights to her best-selling debut novel, also winning a bidding war.
T.J. says she’s actually writing the screenplay for “Falling” … an honor she says is “bonkers” and a process that brings new challenges.
7/6/21TMZ.com
It’s an incredible success story, and T.J. tells us why folks should feel safe if they see her on their flight.
