D.J. Caruso Adapting New James Frey Fiction

Published by Jeff Leins on: January 20th, 2010

D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye) is adapting “I Am Number Four,” a young adult, science fiction novel and possible franchise for DreamWorks, according to the Heat Vision Blog.

The studio acquired the rights in June 2009 to serve as a project for Michael Bay to produce and possibly direct.  Instead Bay agreed to immediately return for Transformers 3 and his attention is now focused on how many explosions he can fit into another two and a half hours of fighting robots.  He’ll stay on as producer while Caruso calls the day-to-day shots.  The creators of TV’s “Smallville,” Al Gough and Miles Millar, wrote the script.

“I Am Number Four” is an upcoming novel being published by HarperCollins in the Fall about nine aliens who disguise themselves as high school kids in Ohio.  The fourth extra terrestrial, John Smith, learns an alien enemy race has discovered them after blowing up their home planet and he must fight to protect what’s left of his people.  The first novel is part of a proposed series of six books (other reports say it’s only four) co-written by Joby Hughes and James Frey.  At least this Frey idea is overtly fiction…

If you’re not familiar with Frey, he wrote 2005’s “A Million Little Pieces,” his personal memoirs about drug addiction that landed on Oprah’s coveted Book Club and the top of the New York Times bestseller list for fifteen weeks straight.  In 2006, theSmokingGun.com exposed Frey’s fact fabrication and the author was confronted live on Oprah’s show for profiting from the falsification.  The publisher, Random House, spent approximately $1.3 million cleaning up the public relations mess.  Brad Pitt’s Plan B was negotiating for the film rights to “Little Pieces” until the scandal ruined the deal.

Already established as a controversial figure, Frey is moving up a provocative notch by working on “Illumination: The Last Testament of the Holy Bible,” a fiction novel that he says will serve as the “third book of the Bible” where Jesus is resurrected in New York City among the prostitutes, homeless, and dealers of the metropolis.  That should win back those Oprah fans.  It’s really about an Orthodox Jew who wakes up from an accident thinking he’s the true Messiah, but Frey loves to embellish.

Looking forward to Twilight with aliens though.  Should be fantastic…