# How A Mistake In Warner Bros. Contracts Helped Eleven Film & Jack Thorne Land ‘Lord Of The Flies’ TV Rights — Thessaloniki

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/how-a-mistake-in-warner-bros-contracts-helped-eleven-film-jack-thorne-land-lord-of-the-flies-tv-rights-thessaloniki/
- Published: 2026-11-07T11:40:44+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T12:22:59+00:00
- Original publisher: Deadline
- Original article: https://deadline.com/2026/11/joel-wilson-eleven-films-jack-thorne-lord-of-the-flies-1237216218/
- Topics: Entertainment, Film, TV

## Key points

- A contract ambiguity helped Eleven Film secure the TV rights.
- Jack Thorne agreed to adapt the novel if the rights were obtained.
- The BBC approved the series before a script was written.

## Summary

Eleven Film’s Joel Wilson said an ambiguity in Warner Bros.’ original contracts helped his company secure the television rights to William Golding’s *Lord of the Flies*. That opened the way for Jack Thorne to adapt the novel as a BBC series, which is now screening at the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

Wilson had repeatedly approached Golding’s estate about the rights, while keeping in touch with the agent for the book’s stage rights. Warner Bros. had tried to remake the story, but the contract did not clearly state whether it held television rights as well as film rights; Golding’s family retained the TV rights. After Thorne said he would adapt the novel if the rights could be secured, the BBC approved the project before a script existed. The four-part series launched in the UK in February and began streaming on Netflix in the US in May; it received two Emmy nominations.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.