Runaway Bride, Hero Hostage to 'Tell-All'

By DANIEL YEE, Associated Press Writer Sun Jun 19, 5:48 AM ET

ATLANTA - One woman broke the law. The other helped catch a suspected killer. Both are selling their stories and could make millions in the process. Representatives of Ashley Smith — whose 911 call led police to courthouse shootings suspect Brian Nichols — and runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks made deals for their stories with publishing houses in the past week.

The women likely received advances of about $500,000 for story rights that could turn into a windfall of millions of dollars should movies on their lives be made, entertainment experts said. The companies that acquired the rights have declined to release financial details of the deals.

Smith and Wilbanks weren't the only ones striking high-profile deals. On Thursday, Mark Felt, the former FBI deputy director who revealed himself as Deep Throat, chose PublicAffairs Books to release his memoir and Universal Pictures optioned the 91-year-old's story. Literary agents have said the book rights alone for the story of The Washington Post's secret Watergate investigation source could be worth $1 million.

Experts say the sky is the limit when millions of people want to know your story.

"The demand is unprecedented," said Steven Beer, an entertainment attorney from the New York law firm Greenberg Traurig who has represented Britney Spears. "We're living in this media culture where general audiences crave personal stories of people who were once like them but now ... are thrust into the public eye."

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