Fairy Tale Ending
Good things come to those who wait. That's not a philosophy Hollywood lives by, but it certainly applies to Claire Messud, author of The Emperor's Children (Knopf, 2006). Since publishing her first novel, When the World Was Steady, in 1995, Messud has received no shortage of critical recognition: all of her earlier works were New York TimesNotable Books of the Year; her second novel, The Last Life, was a PW Best Book of the Year; and she's been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award not once, but twice. And still, no knock from Hollywood. Even with Emperor peaking at #5 on the Times list, history seemed set to repeat itself. An early negotiation with Granada fell through, leaving Messud's most commercial novel to date still available. Her luck changed last week, with Imagine Entertainment snapping up this very Manhattan tale of three overeducated, underfulfilled Brown graduates. Georgesand Anne Borchardt of Georges Borchardt Inc. and CAA's Matt Snyder rep Messud.
The Vision Thing
When Cornerstone Literary Agency's Helen Breitweiser sold The Archangel Project(HarperCollins, Feb. 2008), a first novel by retired army intelligence officer Steven Graham, last May, the veteran romance and children's literary agent wasn't prepared for the intense jockeying from eager producers. She should have been: the novel's subject matter, inspired by Graham's own experience in the CIA's controversial "remote viewing" project, has long fascinated Hollywood. Producers will soon learn if their patience will be rewarded: Graham is set to deliver the completed manuscript this week. Breitweiser's last big venture into Hollywood erupted into an all-out bidding war and $1.5 million payout for Ahmet Zappa's Monstrous Memoirs of Mighty McFearless (Random, 2006). Breitweiser has not chosen a coagent yet.
Infinite Deals
David Foster Wallace, author of the always-optioned 1,097-page Infinite Jest, doesn't have to write big to get Hollywood's attention. Bonnie Nadell and Brillstein-Grey's Kassie Evashevski have set up three of Wallace's short works—all to different actors. The Office's John Krasinski (aka "the cute one") is currently in production with Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Wallace's short story collection. Jason Schwartzman, last seen coming to an unhappy end in Marie Antoinette, has optioned the title essay from A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (Little, Brown, 1997), while Brad Pitt's Plan B will host Host, an essay that first appeared in Atlantic Monthly. Bonnie Nadell reps Wallace for lit.
