By knowing what FMCG goods book buyers spend their money on, Tesco have started to adapt best-selling titles for straight-to-DVD films. The first of these projects is a Jackie Collins' bonkbuster called Paris Connections.
The fun is trying to guess which products trigger heavy enough book-buying to stimulate interest in producing a film. Perhaps Jackie Collins readers buy disproportionate amounts of chocolate and red wine? Maybe Karin Slaughter fans hoard kitchen utensils? And it's tempting to think Jacqueline Wilson's audience stock up on ice cream, jelly and sponge cakes.
But, seriously, it's a bit depressing when decisions to make movies boil down to how many spuds a supermarket is selling. Where's the art, the creativity, the passionate auteurs in that? And I can't image retailers wanting to get over-embroiled in negotiations with authors' agents, although perhaps the number of projected DVD sales will make agents receptive to such deals.
This development moulds Hollywood into the role of product managers and promotion statisticians, where every new film is an extrapolation of public tastes in groceries. It brings stardom down the to the level of the weekly shop, which is perhaps just what Tesco wants.
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