Founders of New Line Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne will produce a film version of Isaac Asimov’s FOUNDATION trilogy for Warner Bros. as the first deal for their new company Unique Features. But this unique project was picked up in turnaround from Fox (which released I, Robot in 2004). Shaye tells Hollywood Reporter, “Our idea [is] to renew the worldwide audience’s appetite for the story.” HR
Archives for July 2008
"Waiter Rant" Writer Comes Out
The anonymous blogger behind Waiter Rant is Steve Dublanica, who as come forward to promote the book of the same name based on his misadventures as a waiter. He doesn’t name the restaurant where we worked but it doesn’t take NY Mag’s food blog long to confirm that he worked for six years at Nyack’s Lanterna Tuscan Bistro.Post
Borders Gets Behind LACE READER
With Barnes & Noble pushing The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Borders is focusing on Brunonia Barry’s THE LACE READER by “treat[ing] the book as an immediate bestseller” with deep discounts, a 25-minute Borders Book Club video of the author and seven book club members playing on Borders.com, in-store book club discussion guides, and “Original Voices” placement as well. The chain says in a release “thousands of booksellers throughout the retailer’s stores nationwide have been receiving information about The Lace Reader for weeks so that they can personally recommend the title to customers looking for a great read.” […]
Booker Not-Yet-List
Half of these books won’t even be finalists for the Booker Prize. We’ll find out September 9 which ones when the “shortist” is announced: The White Tiger, by Aravind AdigaGirl in a Blue Dress, by Gaynor ArnoldThe Secret Scripture, by Sebastian BarryFrom A to X, by John BergerThe Lost Dog, by Michelle de KretserSea of Poppies, by Amitav GhoshThe Clothes on Their Backs, by Linda GrantA Case of Exploding Mangoes, by Mohammed HanifThe Northern Clemency, by Philip HensherNetherland, by Joseph O’Neill The Enchantress of Florence, by Salman RushdieChild 44, by Tom Rob SmithA Fraction of the Whole, by Steve Toltz
Another Change at the Top at HarperCollins
HarperCollins chief operating officer Glenn D’Agnes has “decided to leave the company to pursue other opportunities” after 10 years in that post and 18 years with the company overall. As CEO Brian Murray notes to employees: “During his time here, Glenn has played a critical role in the acquisition and successful integration of several companies into HarperCollins. He has been an integral part of securing and managing our distribution clients, which have become an important part of our business. He has overseen major technology and systems changes, including our ERP project. And, he has helped the company to achieve its […]
Mad About Draper
This is Grove’s month for poetry: first their author Kay Ryan is named the new poet laureate, and now something really big: lead character on the celebrated show Mad Men Don Draper buys and reads Frank O’Hara’s poetry collection Meditations in an Emergency. He mails the book with a note to an unknown person and reads aloud a passage from the poem “Mayakovsky” during a montage sequence. All good enough to pop the book to No. 159 at Amazon–where it is now out of stock–and produce a number of print mentions. (In the first season, Draper was also seen reading […]