Sunset Lane Media Lands Herbie Cohen Book for Film
Sunset Lane Media has landed the feature rights to Rich Cohen's book The Adventures of Herbie Cohen: World's Greatest Negotiator, with Daniel Stiepleman attached to write the film version, Deadline reported on 18 September 2026. Feature rights give a company the legal permission to turn a book into a movie. They sit at the start of most adaptations.
Without them, a studio cannot shop a script based on the book or move into casting and production. The new project will be produced by Charles Randolph and David Beaubaire for Sunset Lane Media, according to the same report. Producers steer a film from deal to delivery.
They hire key talent, oversee the script and help set the budget and schedule. Randolph is an Oscar winner. He took the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Big Short, which honours a script based on existing material.
Beaubaire brings producing experience from both film and television. He produced Fatherhood, the Kevin Hart-led feature made for Netflix. He also served as an executive producer, a senior role that often involves financing or high-level oversight, on Men in Black: International and the Netflix series The Night Agent, Deadline reported.
Stiepleman is attached to write. That means he will draft the screenplay that translates the book for the screen. He is represented by Gersh and Anonymous Content. Randolph and author Rich Cohen are represented by CAA, the talent agency.
Agencies act for writers and authors in deal talks. They organise contracts and connect clients with jobs. Their mention in an announcement tells the industry who handled the negotiations.
What makes this stand out for general readers is simple. The title says plenty. A story about negotiation now moves through Hollywood's own negotiation system of rights, writers, producers and representatives.
No cast has been announced. No release date has been set. The next steps follow a familiar pattern. A script comes first.
Casting and a director would come later if the project advances. For now, the deal itself is the news. Rights secured. Writer set. Producers in place.
