Smart Family Deluged With Offers
Hollywood loves a gripping saga, especially one with a happy — and astonishing — ending like the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping.
So it's no surprise that in the five days since the kidnapped teen returned home, the family's spokesman has fielded more than 3,000 media calls and received nearly 100 film, book or made-for-TV-movie proposals.
The potential audience for a real-life drama is enormous, if hits to the Smart family Web site are any indication. In the first hours after Elizabeth was found alive and returned home Wednesday, more than 3 million people had visited the site.
Her story, outlined by investigators, is a screenwriter's dream: Kidnapped at knifepoint — allegedly by homeless drifter Brian David Mitchell — Elizabeth lived with the self-proclaimed prophet and his wife Wanda Barzee for nine months.
Family members say she was so brainwashed she didn't try to escape, even when she had the chance.
Sharp-eyed witnesses recognized Mitchell and called police Wednesday. The suspects were arrested, Elizabeth was returned home, and people across the country rejoiced.
Mitchell and Barzee remained in jail Sunday awaiting charges, which are still being deliberated by prosecutors.
Chris Thomas, a spokesman for parents Ed and Lois Smart, said they will begin to review production offers in the next few weeks.
"It's something that they're going to deal with soon. They're trying to figure this all out — it comes down to let someone else tell the story, or tell it themselves," Thomas said.
USA, ABC, NBC, CBS and Lifetime are all reportedly interested in obtaining rights to the story.
"It really covers the broad spectrum. I haven't looked at all of them, and I don't want to disclose specific names and studios or other entities, but we've been contacted by some really big names," said Thomas.
Rumors that John Walsh, host of the television show "America's Most Wanted," has been pushing Ed Smart for a production deal are false, said Thomas. Walsh has interviewed the father for his show and the two became close after Elizabeth's disappearance.
"It came up in a discussion between Ed and John, when Ed was asking John for advice on a number of things. John said, 'I'm not even going to go there. I've read rumors that I've got the inside source on this. I do have a production company and if you're interested you can talk to me, but I'm not pitching you. That would be a really tacky thing to do in my capacity,'" Thomas said.
Thomas said the family has not begun to consider a price, because they haven't decided yet whether to go along with any production, movie or book.
"Right now, their main focus is on Elizabeth and books and movies and exterior things are secondary," he said. "The family is being very calculated in every action, and weighing the pros and cons of everything with the predominant priority being Elizabeth's well-being."