Recently an email from my friend, Phil Doran, revealed that the film rights to his book, The Reluctant Tuscan, have been bought by John Travolta and his actress wife, Kelly Preston. They had been looking for some time for a story that would have good roles for both of them.
In the vein of A Year in Provence or Driving Over Lemons, The Reluctant Tuscan is a charming, funny, heart-warming read. But it's not necessarily a book you'd immediately think would be adapted for a major film star. It was in the right place at the right time.
Another friend of mine had a script that had been rejected several times. Then word got out that two major young Hollywood male starts wanted to do a picture together, and my friend's script happened to have two very strong male roles for actors in that age range. This time his script led to a bidding war and an option fee to him of half a million dollars. Shortly thereafter the two stars decided not to work together and the option was never exercised. Even though it's very good, the script still has never been made--but my friend kept the half million dollars.
My feature film, The Real Howard Spitz, was nearly made half a dozen times in the 13 years between when I wrote it and when it finally really was made, directed by Vadim Jean (whose adaptation of Terry Pratchett's The Hogfather showed on UK TV very recently). Those half-dozen "nearlies" were bad timing, and then finally we were able to get Kelsey Grammer attached--he'd just come out of rehab and was looking for a new project: good timing!
If you have a book, script, or other project that hasn't yet sold, hang in there--its time may be just around the corner.