...how does one go about doing this? Do I have to have an agent, or can I make all the contacts myself? And if i do it myself...how do I manage to find the right contacts?

any other advice is much appreciated!!

thanks
jeremiah

You can do it yourself, but I wouldn't advise it. You don't need an agent. You do need a lawyer or, at least, you want to have a lawyer look over the paperwork.

The place to start is with the book publisher. They may or may not have acquired either the copyright or an assignment of rights that would include film adaptations, but if not they can steer you to whoever has them. If the rights are still with the author, you'd negotiate with the author's agent.

Generally, you option a book, i.e. pay a fee to reserve the rights while you try to get funding and/or a studio commitment. If the project gets green-lighted, you exercise your option (or renew the option for another limited period while you keep pushing the project).