(NEW YORK) – October 28, 2015.   Emily Bestler Books/Atria Publishing Group today announced they will publish a debut novel co-authored by acclaimed actor/filmmaker Gary Oldman and award winning film producer Douglas Urbanski. BLOOD RIDERS tells the story of a mysterious man fleeing a curse in a town that the gold rush left behind. A spring 2016 publication date is anticipated.  BLOOD RIDERS will also be available from Simon & Schuster Audio.

Emily Bestler, Senior Vice-President and Editor in Chief, acquired worldwide publishing rights for her imprint from David Vigliano of AGI Vigliano.

The collaboration of Gary Oldman and Doug Urbanski is one that has spanned 30 years, as actor/manager, director/producer, as friends, and now as co-authors.

“We have always wanted to write a story of vampire cowboys, set in the Wild West, the gold rush—and we have had these characters and this story kicking around in our heads for years. We hope everyone is drawn to Magnus and we envision a series of books that follow his curse and struggles with the forces of good and evil, and also the ever present vampire ingredients of blood, and love,” Oldman and Urbanski said in a joint statement.

“BLOOD RIDERS adds a vibrant new twist to the iconic vampire story making the novel’s hero deeply human, deeply conflicted and deeply original,” Bestler said.

As one of the highest grossing actors in the history of motion pictures, hailed as one of the greatest actors of his generation, Oldman’s iconic status has been a fixture on the horizon of cinema for nearly three decades. From roots in London’s theatre scene of the 1980’s, to appearances in major film franchises to acclaim and awards, Oldman’s life and career has been as unique as any. He has received the British Academy Award for Best British Film as a producer and for Best Screenwriter for NIL BY MOUTH, which was also selected to open the main competition of the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, where the film additionally received an award and also acclaim. Oldman’s iconic characters include Sid Vicious (SID AND NANCY); Joe Orton (PRICK UP YOUR EARS); Dracula; Lee Harvey Oswald (JFK), Beethoven (IMMORTAL BELOVED); Batman’s crime fighting partner, Jim Gordon, in the Chris Nolan Batman series; Sirius Black, Harry Potter’s godfather; he has also co stared with Harrison Ford (AIR FORCE ONE); and Denzel Washington (THE BOOK OF ELI); he collaborated on two films with Luc Besson, LEON, THE PROFESSIONAL  and THE FIFTH ELEMENT. Oldman also produced and starred in THE CONTENDER, with Joan Allen, and Jeff Bridges. For his landmark performance as master spy George Smiley, in John LeCarre’s TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, he received nominations as Best Actor from both the British and American Academy Awards.

As perhaps one of the most active theatre producers on Broadway and in London during the 1980’s, Urbanski’s productions received numerous Tony Award Nominations and won prizes like the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and Olivier Awards. He presented productions by authors such as Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, Anthony Shaffer, Eugene O’Neil, Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams, William Congreve, Peter Ustinov, William Shakespeare, Michael Frayn, and Harold Pinter. His plays featured players such as Sir Rex Harrison, Jack Lemmon, Dame Maggie Smith, Vanessa Redgrave, Dame Joan Plowright, Claudette Colbert, Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Glenda Jackson, Donald O’Connor, Lynn Redgrave, Sir Peter Ustinov, Jeremy Brett, Sir Alec Guinness, Edward Herman, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Derek Jacobi, Harold Pinter, Liv Ullman, Richard Chamberlain, Geraldine Page, and Blythe Danner. As a film producer, he received his first British Academy Award for Best British Film for Oldman’s acclaimed NIL BY MOUTH; he also produced THE CONTENDER, which starred Oldman, Joan Allen, and Jeff Bridges, the film also received two Academy Award Nominations. In 2010/11 he Executive Produced John Le’Carre’s TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, which received numerous BAFTA and Academy Award Nominations, and became the second Urbanski film to win the British Academy Award for Best British Film. TINKER was also selected to premiere at the Venice Film Festival. In addition to his management responsibilities he also produces or Exec Produces most films featuring business partner Gary Oldman; he is known to audiences of David Fincher’s THE SOCIAL NETWORK, as Harvard President Larry Summers.

Together, Oldman and Urbanski are developing numerous television projects, including Truman Capote’s IN COLD BLOOD; and also of course, the creation of the entire BLOOD RIDERS world.

 

About Emily Bestler Books:

Emily Bestler Books is an imprint of Atria Books at Simon and Schuster Publishers and home to the bestselling careers of Brad Thor, Vince Flynn, Sister Souljah, John Connolly and more.

 

About Atria Books:

Atria Books is an imprint of Simon & Schuster, a part of CBS Corporation. Simon & Schuster is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Online, and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom. For more information about Atria, visit our website at http://imprints.simonandschuster.biz/atria.