Michael Bay To Direct Adaptation Of Book By Embattled ‘A Million Little Pieces’ Author?
Here’s what we know: according toVariety, Dreamworks is working to preemptively buy the rights toI Am Number Four, the first novel in a projected six-book sci-fi series, eyeingMichael Bayto produce and possibly direct. The unpublished novel is being shopped around with the two authors represented by a single pseudonym. But the interest level rose when reports surfaced that one of the writers isJames Frey, who rose to fame, then infamy, as the author of the partly fictional ‘memoir’A Million Little Pieces.
The Media Decoderblog of the New York Times reports that Frey is the originator of the idea behind the projected series, and that he sought out another writer (as yet unnamed) to help him pen the novels. The blog describes the plot as follows:
Realistically, the big hook here if it is actually Frey is the lingering air of controversy that surrounds him. In the wake ofA Million Little Pieces, supposedly a memoir about his recovery from drug addiction but revealed to be partially fabricated, Frey has published a novel calledBright Shiny Morning, about a collection of characters drawn to fulfill their dreams in Los Angeles. It did well enough, but we don’t know anything about his facility with science fiction, much less that of his co-author. Regardless, if the story is any good, seeing Dreamworks make a big original sci-fi flick would be a treat.
And what about Bay? Seeing him jump on board this as a producer isn’t a stretch, but directing? Sounds like the sort of thing Dreamworks might just mention this weekend to get a little interest going in the project.
