If there's one writer out there who is known for writing children's horror stories, it's definitely R.L. Stine. After his iconic Goosebumps books (and TV show), many of his fans went on to read his Fear Street series, which blended the troubles of teenage life with elements of horror. It was cool watching the Netflix Fear Street movies in the summer of 2021, and it's nice to know that author R.L. Stine loves the trilogy.
From the first movie, it became clear that Shadyside isn't an easy place to live, and this town is the perfect setting. Since the trilogy was so popular, and R.L. Stine is a celebrated writer, did he get rich selling the rights to this book series? Let's take a look at how much Netflix paid R.L. Stine for his Fear Street book series.
What Did R.L. Stine Make For The 'Fear Street' Film Options?
Since Netflix's Fear Street trilogy is based on R.L. Stine's books, it seems like the author would have been paid a nice sum.
While the exact number that R.L. Stine was given for his Fear Street series isn't known, there are some general figures out there.
Writers are paid 2 or 3% of the movie budget, according to Writer's Digest. The website notes that if a movie has a $10 million budget, someone could make $200,000 when principal photography starts.
Janefriedman.com notes, "While everything is negotiable, an option can range from $500–$500,000. A good gauge is 10% of the purchase price if the story rights are later bought."
While fans don't know what R.L. Stine was paid for the option for these three movies, R.L. Stine's net worth is $200 million so he has been doing really well in his writing career.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, over 400 million of R. L. Stine's books have sold around the world.
The author would have also been paid for the rights to his Goosebumps book series as there are two movies, Goosebumps and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween.
How Well Did The 'Fear Street' Movies Do On Netflix?
The Hollywood Reporter shared that in July 2021, two of the films were very successful as they made it onto the top 10 list of what was streaming on Netflix.
Director Leigh Janiak said that while Netflix doesn't usually talk about the "numbers" for TV shows, she did hear "positive" things from the streaming service: "There was a time when Part 2 was No. 1 in there streaming movies and Part 1 was No. 2. It was awesome."
The movies did well on Rotten Tomatoes, with the first movie getting a 83 percent rating on the Tomatometer, the second movie getting 88 percent, and the third getting 90 percent.
R.L. Stine On Writing His 'Fear Street' Book Series
In an interview with The Huffington Post, R.L. Stine said that he never wanted to write a scary story that took place in New York City, which has been his home since he finished his college years.
R.L. Stine said, “It’s a superstition. I’ve never done it. A lot of kids don’t know New York. They know a nice suburban backyard, but they don’t know New York City. It’s kind of elite in some ways, I think. I think it would make the stories more obscure for kids.”
The author also said of the Fear Street books, “Of course, I always wonder why they don’t move to Happy Street."
R.L. Stine explained that he and his publisher were thinking about him publishing a book series and he felt that having stories set on a scary street would be a great idea. He said, "And then we started thinking about location and that kind of thing, and I thought, if I can think of a good name for the series, I’ll be off to a good start.”
Fans are curious about R.L. Stine's writing process and he shared that he doesn't like to stop writing for longer than a two-week period. He said, "A friend of mine once asked me, ‘How long can you go without writing? Writers don’t retire do they?’" He explained that he is okay with a two-week writing hiatus or a trip somewhere, and he gets "uncomfortable" when he goes too long without being able to write.
In an interview with Mental Floss, R.L. Stine said that the name came easily. He said, “It was the first one I thought of: Fear And I thought, ‘That would be a place where bad things happen. It’ll be a very normal, suburban town, but there’ll be this one street that’s cursed. People who go to Fear Street or people who move to Fear Street, terrible things would happen to them. And that would be a way to do a series.’ And that’s how it started, by basing it on the location and not the characters.”
R.L. Stine fans can look forward to his new book Stinetinglers. According to Entertainment Weekly, the series will come out in August 2022 and the book will include 10 terrifying tales.
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