⇒We hear that Jo Barrett (left) not only has her debut novel, The Men’s Guide to the Women’s Bathroom, coming out this month, but that CBS has already optioned the book and brought Hugh Jackman’s production company in on the action. As I mentioned to Barrett in email yesterday, I can’t even begin to imagine what the book party is going to be like, although I can probably guess where the most fun part of it will be…
⇒I also got a message from my buddy, Phil Campbell, confirming that the film rights to his memoir, Zioncheck for President, had just been bought by producer/director Stephen Gyllenhaal, who wants to make Phil’s story of volunteering on the campaign of a would-be Seattle city council member into “a DIY-style, no-budget, Sundance-worthy film.” Although he’s mostly been working in TV the last few years, Gyllenhaal’s earlier big-screen successes include the pot comedy Homegrown and the 1993 drama A Dangerous Woman (both of which include his kids, Jake and Maggie, in small parts). “I’m excited about the film,” Campbell writes, “but if Gyllenhaal uses some of the more embarrassing scenes of me in the book, I do reserve the right to temporarily exit the theater during the premiere. I’ll probably take a lot of bathroom breaks, or strike up nervous conversations with the popcorn vendors.”