Those mourning the recently departed Six Feet Under may not have to wait long for a new weekly fix of family dysfunction. HBO is in final negotiations for Meg Wolitzer's The Position, published by Scribner in March. Actor-director Griffin Dunne will direct. When confronted with evidence of our parents' sex life, most of us do the adult thing: deny, deny, deny. But repression isn't an option for Roz and Paul Mellow's four grown children, because in 1975 the couple shared their turn-ons with the entire world in a bestselling sex manual called Pleasuring—complete with illustrations of Mom and Dad assuming every horrific position. The novel follows the baggage-laden siblings as, 30 years later, the image of their parents engaging in something called the "Electric Forgiveness" burns in their heads as brightly as ever. A source said the HBO staff has taken to referring to the series as "Six Inches Under." Peter Matson of Sterling Lord, and Hotchkiss & Associates' Jody Hotchkiss represent Wolitzer.
He Who Hesitates...
Don't tell Scott Rudin that nothing gets done in August. While on location in London for his upcoming Notes on a Scandal, the prolific producer found time to hunker down with Indecision (Random House, Aug.), Benjamin Kunkel's funny debut novel about an overeducated 20-something afflicted with an acute inability to make up his mind. Clearly, Rudin isn't plagued by the same condition as Kunkel's ambivalent hero, Dwight Wilmerding. Moments after finishing the book, Rudin dipped into his discretionary fund to option film rights—just days before the book hit stores last week. A string of strong reviews in the New York Times, the New York Observer and others have some marking Kunkel's book as fall's breakout title to watch. Elyse Cheney reps Kunkel for lit; UTA's Howard Sanders and Keya Khayatian did the film deal.
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