‘Deep Throat’: the deals

For those who have wondered why former deputy FBI director W. Mark Felt finally admitted he was “Deep Throat,” the answer may be four words: movie and book deal. Felt’s family recently joined Creative Artists Agency’s client list, and now Variety reports that Universal Pictures and Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman have signed a deal with Felt. In addition, the family has chosen PublicAffairs Books to publish a combination of autobiography and biography next spring, publisher and Chief Executive Peter Osnos told the Washington Post.

Previous reports have indicated that money played a role in the Felt family’s decision to reveal their father as the long-debated deep background source who helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with their investigation of the Watergate break-in and, subsequently, the Nixon administration.

A Universal spokesman said the deal was signed with Hanks’ production company, but it was too early to say whether Hanks would play the role of Felt. “At this point he’s a producer on the film,” spokesman Paul Pflug said.

-- Mary McNamara