Ever have that weird coincidence feeling, wherein certain people keep popping into your brain based on the strange convergence of references in the ether? That happened for Cinecultist recently in regards to writer/hack/impresario Toby Young, author of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, his roman a clef about working for Vanity Fair. Apparently, Miramax has optioned the rights to the book and is planning to make a "dick lit" flick about it. Even better (and when we say better, we mean stranger) still is that according to the Sunday Times Jake Gyllenhaal will be playing the bald, portly, 40 year old English writer. Say wha?
CC had Young on the brain, strangely enough, because we'd just finished reading the essay in Peter Hyman's book, The Reluctant Metrosexual, about Hyman's own tenure at Vanity Fair during the Young years and their occasional drunken interactions. Gothamist Interview just recently did a Q & A with Hyman if you're curious, as we were, about how his bad with love/good with disposible income schtick transfers over to his actual life. Anyhoo, picking up Hyman's book randomly a week or so ago because it sounded like the kind of blog we'd like to read, reminded us of why we picked up Young's book. It's all about viewing the nitty gritty of the enviable Manhattan lifestyle in letters.
And so it then makes sense to do a movie about this lifestyle, just like Candace Bushnell hit it big with Sex and the City, one could imagine that the Miramax folks hope Toby might be the new silver screen Carrie. But how could they cast Gyllenhaal? He's 24! And totally American! Maybe it's a typo? Then there's the bit in the article about casting Catherine Zeta Jones as his love interest that he met while in the States? That makes no sense what so ever.
Either way though, we look forward to picking apart this potential production. And the good news, especially say if you're Gawker, is that perhaps Graydon Carter might be persuaded to play himself. Hell, he's in the remake of Alfie coming up. It could be a good career move for the erstwhile editor.
A mediabistro interview with Young from last year, including his nearly naked photo from the New York Observer, if like CC you had no idea what he looked like before.
Posted by karen at October 6, 2004 8:39 PM