The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists is something of a “guy” book. I know because I used to work in a bookstore when it came out, and guys bought it. Not many women. Since the film industry pretty much runs on the young male demographics it was inevitable that Neil Strauss’s memoir/tell-all/how-to book would be turned into a feature film. In fact, it’s been tried before by The Golden Compass‘s Chris Weitz. But that version fell through, and although Weitz is still attached to produce with his brother Paul, the project has now switched hands from Spyglass to Lionsgate to, now, MGM, which has hired Brian Koppelman and David Levien to take over the film. Hollywood Reporter had the tale.
Koppelman and Levien are old-hand screenwriters now, having made their debut with John Dahl’s 1998 poker drama Rounders, starring Matt Damon and Ed Norton, and then proceeding to such screenwriting gigs as the Dwayne Johnson remake of Walking Tall and a couple of Steven Soderbergh joints: Ocean’s 13 and The Girlfriend Experience. Recently they made their co-directorial debut with Solitary Man, the critically acclaimed drama starring Michael Douglas, whom many believed would be an Oscar contender for his performance. Perhaps ironically (or perhaps that’s just life), Douglas would be snubbed while his Solitary Man co-star Jesse Eisenberg got a Best Actor nomination for The Social Network.
Koppelman and Levien are reportedly planning to begin casting soon. No word on whether Tom Cruise and Britney Spears will play themselves in the adaptation of Neil Strauss’s best-selling story of how he became a pickup artist. But we kind of doubt it.
CRAVE Online will return with more The Game news as soon as we’re through running through your mind. Fair warning: it’s going to take all day.
