BuzzSugar

Michael Bay and James Frey May Team Up For Sci-Fi Movies

BuzzSugar — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:30:08 -0700

Yeah, you read those names correctly. Michael Bay, director of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, is in talks to produce and possibly direct a sci-fi movie franchise based on a six-book young adult series that has yet to be published.

This news in and of itself isn't all that earth-shattering but the interesting part is that the project is reportedly being co-written by James Frey. You know, the guy who got yelled at by Oprah on the air for stretching the truth in his so-called memoir A Million Little Pieces.

The first book, titled I Am Number Four is about:

. . . a group of nine alien teenagers on a planet called Lorien, which is attacked by a hostile race from another planet. The nine and their guardians evacuate to Earth, where three are killed. The protagonist, a Lorien boy named John Smith, hides in Paradise, Ohio, disguised as a human, trying to evade his predators and knowing he is next on their list.

Sounds like a pretty solid premise for young adult fiction and for a movie. What do you think? Are you surprised Frey had something like this in him?

Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:30:35 -0700

We appear to have a mellow movie weekend ahead of us in terms of new releases, but there is still lots out there to keep you busy. Which movie are you headed to this weekend?
Holy cow, it was a busy week for TV! The network upfronts gave us a lot of good stuff to look forward to this Fall. Fox added some cool-looking sci-fi shows to its roster while the CW charts a clear path forward, littered with rich kids.
Speaking of the CW's rich kids, are you excited for the new 90210 now that we've got some pictures? And what do you think about the series Surviving the Rich (based on the book How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls)?
Hooray for Reaper! It will not be canceled, which I assume is a great relief to its star, Bret Harrison, who I had the honor of interviewing!
There were a lot of trailers out on the Web this week some good, some not so good. I thought Edge of Love looks breathtakingly gorgeous (and so romantic!) and I'm really intrigued by Woody Allen's latest all-star flick.
Is it just me or does it seem like only people raised in the '80s are running the show down in L.A. right now? They're bringing Fraggle Rock to the big screen and. . . wait for it. . . a cereal box mascot movie (yeah, it's odd, just read the post).
James Frey, author of the bestselling memoir A Million Little Pieces (which later turned out to be more fiction than anything else) has a new book out and it's getting stellar reviews. Are you open to reading his stuff?
Definitely make time to check out what's new on iTunes because there's some great stuff out this week, including Duffy and Death Cab for Cutie. And if you're curious about who's singing that sweet little tune on the diamond commercials, I have the entire song here.
Also, the new Flight of the Conchords video for "Ladies of the World" is. So. Funny.

Source

Will You Read the New James Frey Book?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:30:32 -0700

Soon after Oprah chose James Frey's A Million Little Pieces for her book club, the memoir became a bestseller. But then it was revealed that Frey had exaggerated and even made up pivotal plot elements and characters in his "memoir." Not only was Frey humiliated in the publishing world, but after Oprah dragged him onto her couch for a difficult-to-watch public tongue lashing, many figured the man would never work again.

Well, he did work again. Frey wrote a novel called Bright Shiny Morning (on bookshelves today) that was given a glowing review by the New York Times in which the reviewer wrote, "He got another chance. Look what he did with it. He stepped up to the plate and hit one out of the park. No more lying, no more melodrama, still run-on sentences still funny punctuation but so what. He became a furiously good storyteller this time."

That is the kind of review that is hard to come by for any author, much less one whose career hit rock bottom in a swirl of controversy and who managed to enrage the queen of book clubs. I have to say I'm intrigued by this excellent review.

How do you feel about checking out a new book by James Frey?