Words by: David Rutsala
Published/Contributed by: Hector Morgan

No one sets out to make a multigenerational franchise. But as it approaches its twentieth anniversary, “The Looking Glass Wars” has become just that.

It has spawned best-selling books. Award winning graphic novels. Games. Music. And more.

People cosplay its characters. Tattoo their bodies with its images. And share their love of the franchise at conventions and on social media platforms across the globe.

And the founder of this feast, Frank Beddor, has no plans for stopping. He’s just revamped his website, launched a podcast, and has a new book series ready to go.

Sure, “The Looking Glass Wars” has yet to make the leap to the big or small screen. But the interest remains strong. And it’s only a matter of time before the right deal makes this long-time dream of fans a reality.

Still, questions remain:

How did all this happen? How did Frank Beddor, a man whose life story could make a thrilling Netflix series, bring this about?

How did this first time writer, who’d struggled in school, create a fantasy universe that would capture the imaginations of millions around the world, and inspire other creators to join him on this journey? 

This series of articles will answer those questions and more.

So, sit back, relax, as we step back to the late 1990s, when a best-selling book series was the last thing on Frank Beddor’s mind:

Article I: All I Need is an Idea

Twenty five years ago, it was July 15th, 1998. “There’s something about Mary” would premiere in two hours. 

But its producer Frank Beddor had some unfinished business.

For nearly three years, he’d been embroiled in a lawsuit over ownership of a video game. Tonight, he decided, he’d had enough. 

“I gave them an ultimatum to either settle or we would see them in court,” recalls Beddor.

They responded quickly.

“They completely caved and made me an extraordinary offer too.”

They would not make the game. The rights would revert to him. And he would receive a huge payout.

“And then I went to the premiere in Westwood,” Beddor says with a chuckle.

The reaction to “Mary” could only be described as “extreme”.

“A couple laughed so hard they knocked heads and the woman got knocked out,” remembers Beddor.

After the movie, he stood under the arclights, taking it all in. It had been a hot summer day. But the evening had turned cool. And everything felt right.

“I turned to my friend Ed Decter, one of the original writers, who I’d told about the conclusion of the lawsuit, and said ‘This movie might make $200 million,'” recalls Beddor.

And then he added, realizing the enormity of the last twenty-four hours: “Today is a very good day.”

And it was a good day. A great one even. But little did Beddor know that night, another adventure, arguably the biggest one of his life loomed on the horizon. 

This should surprise no one who knows Frank Beddor. He’s always been a man on the move.

He parlayed a career as a two-time world champion skier into stunt work in the movies which evolved into an acting career. He landed roles in cult classics like “Amazon Women on the Moon” and “Remote Control”, and even booked a guest spot on “LA Law” before turning his attention to producing.

The road to becoming a major Hollywood producer was a long one. But it all came together in 1998. Beddor’s year of “three big events” as he calls it. There was “Mary”, settling the lawsuit, and his independent feature “Wicked” that would turn Julia Stiles into a star, and would teach him some of the most valuable lessons he’d ever learn about the industry.

But as the year dawned all of this was far from certain.

“Mary” was still in production, the lawsuit remained unsettled, and Sundance loomed.

“The anticipation of getting into Sundance was really great. That was exciting news. I’ve been to Sundance since ’89, the year “Sex, Lies and Videotape” premiered,” recalls Beddor. “And this was going to be the first year I had a film there.”

He invited all his family and friends to attend.

“And organizing all that and having the premiere and making sure everybody had seats, it was really exciting. I had a lot of friends in Salt Lake City, so they all came,” continues Beddor.

The film went over well. Especially for its star Julia Stiles, who booked the movie “10 Things I Hate About You” before the festival ended. And who the press called “the darling of the festival”. But later screenings were a mixed bag. 

“I went to this screening in Seattle that just rocked the place. I thought I had a hit movie,” remembers Beddor.

But a screening in Berlin went the other way.

“It was the deadest audience, and I thought I had a bomb.” 

Yet, an industry screening in Santa Monica seemed to offer the final word on the picture.

“I had a big theater, four or five hundred people. And I brought in maybe one hundred and fifty for free. But all the executives sat at the back. And it just did not play well.”

For Beddor, all the excitement about “Wicked” ended that night.

“It was such a weird sensation to be walking out of the theater, and knowing that here’s all these people that could make a difference, that could buy the film, but it all fell flat.”

The screenings for “Mary” were the complete opposite.

“Universally, no matter where, what country, people just fell out of their seats.”

But “Mary” had a charmed life from the beginning.

“It was one of those scripts that feels like it’s a winner. I didn’t see how it couldn’t work.”

Production proved to be just as magical.

“From beginning to end it was an anomaly. The production was incredibly smooth. The Farrelly Brothers were so efficient with their days,” recalls Beddor. “I don’t remember ever working more than twelve hours.”

Before the production ended the studio executives took notice.

“Tom Rothman had just come from Fox Searchlight to run Fox, and he didn’t want to do a dumb, gross out comedy. But halfway through production, he saw the dailies. He rushed down to Miami to embrace everybody and put his stamp on it. It was quite amusing.”

The studio was so excited they even changed the release date. 

“Originally, it was going to be released in Christmas of ’98, but we had our first test screenings in the Spring,” remembers Beddor. “The Scores were really, really strong.”

So, the studio chose to move it up to a July release.

“And the marketing people became insanely nervous. Because all of sudden, all the focus shifted to them.”

This was the nineties. And magazine promotion was key. But magazines had long lead times. So, “Mary” couldn’t get into any of the summer preview issues. That could be a problem.

“The studio knew that we had a relatively inexpensive movie in the can that was testing really well and it felt like the time was now,” continues Beddor. “And so they started the process of putting together a campaign. I remember hiring a photographer, who was a friend of mine, and getting that great shot of Cameron that became the poster.”

The movie opened July 15, 1998. But that first weekend, it wasn’t first at the box office, not second, or even third. It was fourth. But then it did something movies just don’t do today. There was almost no drop off in attendance week-to-week. And then it started growing. By September, after being in theaters for eight weeks, it rose to number one at the box office. 

“There wasn’t hype. It was a movie that people discovered through word of mouth. And a movie that audiences were really excited to tell their friends about.” 

It ended up as the fourth highest grossing movie of the year with a total take of $174 million domestic, and $369 million worldwide.

But why did this little “gross-out” comedy do so well?

“At the heart, was a truly romantic notion about being in love with your high school sweetheart,” Beddor remarks. “That’s the glue that held the whole thing together, and why people fell for it more than the other Farrelly Brothers movies. This was more than just a gross out for the sake of getting a laugh. This had heart. And these are the movies that translate into big hits.”

In the space of a few short months, Beddor had become one the hottest producers in town. He opened an office, with staff of five people under him, and had a big development slate of projects.

But Frank Beddor craves movement and excitement. And something about this felt stagnant.

“Being a producer is a very passive, managerial job. Once the film is up, and once you’re filming, the people who are having the most fun are the creatives, the actors and the directors. And I wanted to be on the side of things.” 

Now was his chance. 

“The movie afforded me a little buffer. The movie and the lawsuit. A little financial buffer to stick my toe in.”

It felt good. It felt right.

“As a producer, you’re just banging on doors, and I wanted to take a break and create something that was solely mine.”

And now … all he needed was an idea.

That’s how it all began, a set of unique circumstances that made a new dream possible.

But this is just the beginning of the story. Join us for the next nine parts, and see how Frank Beddor honed and developed the tiny kernel of an idea into books and graphic novels. And how he used innovative marketing to make “The Looking Glass Wars” universe of projects into the successes they have become.

You’ll also get a ringside seat for all the attempts to bring “The Looking Glass Wars”, in various forms, to screens big and small and to the Broadway stage. You’ll meet some of Frank Beddor’s talented collaborators. And you’ll learn some of his exciting plans for the future.

This series is for anyone who is interested in writing, comics, movies, television, theater, and marketing. Or for anyone who has always wondered how a franchise is made.

David Rutsala, raised in a literary family, has worked for over a decade developing film, television and publishing properties for most of the major studios, networks and publishers.  His films have played across the globe, including at prominent venues like the Museum of Modern Art, Sundance, the Berlin Film Festival and Cannes.  The New York Times called DAYS OF GRACE, a film he co-wrote, “flashy and entertaining, but also earnestly concerned with the collapse of trust and integrity at every level of society.”