Sex-Capades of an Expat
Sex sells, but you don't have to tell that to Grant Stoddard. The former gonzo sex columnist for nerve.com is currently channeling his wildest and craziest adventures into a memoir, appropriately titled Working Stiff, for HarperCollins (Mar. 2007). Already attracting interest from a number of studios, including Fox, the book details the now 29-year-old British expat's evolution from a self-declared "prude" who followed a crush from England to New Jersey, to a fearless reporter of all things erotic. Among the memoirist's more notable sex-capades? Infiltrating a heavy-duty s&m camp and (literally) having sex with himself by creating a mold of his you-know-what and having a pal strap it on. Stoddard is repped by Claudia Crossat Sterling Lord Literistic for lit.
Drugs & Violence
Hollywood has always been a sucker for drug cartels, violence and forbidden love. Throw in two feuding Colombian families out for generational blood, and then you'll begin to understand why Muse Productions—currently at work on an adaptation of Martin Amis's London Fields for A History of Violence director David Cronenberg—was so eager to hold onto Laura Restrepo's Leopard in the Sun (Crown, 1999). The company's co-presidents, Robertaand Chris Hanley, recently renegotiated their option on the novel, in a five-figure deal, against a mid-six-figure pickup. Mrs. Hanley also adapted the script, which follows Restrepo's epic tale of rival families the Monsalves and the Barragans, who are doomed to a cycle of slaughter until all the males on one side are dead. Eric Zohn of the William Morris Agency acted on behalf of Restrepo's lit agent, Thomas Colchie of the Colchie Agency, New York.
A Royal Flush
In Flush (Knopf, 2005), Carl Hiaasen's second book for young people, the author doesn't stray too far from the delightfully quirky tone and pro-environment message of his first children's novel, 2003's Hoot(or even his adult books, for that matter). Featuring a brother and sister who foil the plans of a casino boat owner who's been dumping human sewage into the ocean, the cautionary tale is currently being shopped around by ICM's Ron Bernstein. If the sale pattern of Hoot—which was snapped up by Walden Media (The Chronicles of Narnia), adapted by TV vet Wil Shriner and is being released by New Line April 7—is any indication, the title may soon be in the hands of one of a number of interested parties. Hiaasen is repped by Esther Newberg of ICM for lit.
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