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Fanboys screenwriter Ernie Cline scored a mid-six figure advance from Random House for North American rights to Ready Player One, his debut young adult novel. International rights are being shopped, and the movie crowd will be kicking the tires on it starting tomorrow Farah Films & Management’s Dan Farah and Foundry Literary are shopping it. A teenager named Wade Watts escapes his bleak surrounds by logging into Oasis, a globally networked virtual utopia where users lead idyllic alternate lives. When the game’s eccentric billionaire creator dies, he offers up his fortune as the prize in an elaborate treasure hunt. Watts is pitted against powerful corporate foes and ruthless competitors who’ll do anything, in the Oasis and real world, to reach the treasure first.
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Fanboys was terrible, Cline’s spec script was worse than terrible and showed a complete lack of gaming knowledge, and this book sounds like a derivative mess. Seriously, this is the guy who thinks owning an X-Box makes him an “old school gamer”.
Anybody who gets into business with this guy must be the most stereotypically out of touch executives since the braintrust behind Poochie.
Ehhh, I don’t know about that. This project seems to hit on every successful attribute of today’s movies…youthful characters, thriller elements, cool technology. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
CLINE IS CLEARY A GOD AMONGST NERDS AND FANBOYS AND OBVIOUSLY THE REAL WRITER OF FANBOYS… DID YOU READ READY PLAYER ONE YET? ITS THE BEST POP CULTURE LOVE FEST OF ALL TIME AND CLEARLY FROM THE GUY WHO WROTE FANBOYS! (THE SCRIPT WAS BETTER THAN THE MOVIE WAS OBVIOUSLY)
so excited for this to be turned into a movie!! Congrats to Cline, and his reps! They may have been agressive, but Farah and Foundry got the deal this book deserved for sure!! This book is amazing!!!
Erine wrote about 3 lines on Fanboys…and Dan Farah is one of the most unliked SOB’s in the business.
i thought about writing a similar post, but i thought it was mean too spirited. Thank you for writing it for me.
Dan gets sh*t done and his clients love him. That’s all that matters.
Agree. Farah is a top tier douche.
Farah is certainly unscrupulous.
Agreed. DF is lying scumbag who shouldn’t be trusted as far as he can be thrown. And he gives horrible notes.
Not one of – the MOST unliked.
just saw these comments after finally reading READY PLAYER ONE… this book is maybe the best sci fi book of the decade. It’s awesome. Simple as that. And Ernie Cline credits his manager Dan Farah with making him the millionaire success story he is today… so, as an aspiring writer myself, I must say – it sounds like the ney sayers on this posting are pissed off people who wish they were finding the success that Farah and Cline are… These guys know what they are doing and are doing it very, very well… Keep it up guys! And congrats!
Dan Farah gets the job done and his clients love him. That’s all that matters.
No he doesn’t and no they don’t. But you’re right in that it matters.
I’m one of Farah’s clients and he’s a great guy. He also works his ass off and knows how to get things done. That’s obviously the reason all of you wannabes envy him so much.
Shouldn’t you guys be fetching bottled water or picking up your boss’s dry cleaning right about now?
This is clearly written by Dallas Sonnier – a close friend of Farah. I know a handful of up and coming writers who have left him, burned by his lies and weaseling trying to get producing credit on their projects (thereby killing them), than writers he was able to keep.
Absolutely me. And everyone knows I’m a big Dan the Man fan. Like that rhyme? Look, bottom line, this is a tough business, and I respect anyone who can make a real living. None of us are perfect. And I’m always going to stand up for, and support, my friends, especially when they are experiencing a great moment with one of their clients.
dallas,
you very well may be right. i actually heard this morning that there are two offers already on the table for the book, BUT could always be Farah’s hype machine. A sale is a sale, and Hollywood needs to keep buying even if it’s from Dan Farah.
Hey, has anyone else heard the story of how he essentially stole a producer credit from the guys that actually developed ARMORED and then when the film went into production, Farah got banned from the set?
Agree with uh no. Farah has thrown one client after another under the bus, in order to make himself the best producer deal possible.
Ha, Dallas. I know 3 writers who have fired Farah in the last year. As others have already stated, Dan puts his name on everything and if he runs spell check on a script and finds 1 typo, tells the town he “developed” it.
Reminds me of the “Better Than Life” episode from the Red Dwarf television series from the UK.
Better Than Life is a game which allows the user to live out all their fantasies and desires. When in the game, one has the ability to mentally command into existence any object, person or environment.
The problem with the game in the TV Series, however, is that it also detects subconscious desires: if the user subconsciously hates himself, then the game will eventually detect this and subject him to specifically-tailored masochistic tortures.
Love that show.
I am trying to work up the slightest interest in a book which is nothing but a video game on paper (AND with a worked-to-death cliche – ‘eccentric billionaire’). Sorry – failed.
Adam Goldberg was the real writer of Fanboys. Ernie had a good idea, but that was it. Kyle Newman and TWC screwed up Adam’s script. Ernie has figured out how to get credit for all of that mess and is still selling projects.
Yes, Ernie IS still selling projects… And now a novel for a record amount. What have you bitter asshats sold recently? Besides Venti mocha lattes?
Ernie Cline is a pet project/personal friend of Harry Knowles aka Ain’t It Cool News, so you can already see how this book/film is going to be mercilessly pimped on that site.
Only problem with that is NO ONE listens to Harry Knowles and his minions anymore.
All their credibility was shot long ago. I also think it’s proven that his endorsement means squat in Hollywood.
The only people who get excited about what he’s passionate about are film execs who are so out of touch that they still think he’s in touch.
That said, the concept of the book sounds interesting. Let’s see how it’s executed before we all take a massive dump on it.
Funny that they don’t mention THUNDERCADE – just an awful script about video games as well.
I’m still debating whether or not it is a good thing that this guy didn’t write much of FANBOYS… because it is an unwatchable movie.
I’ve head the same thing from several writers.
I can’t believe all the hate coming from people who don’t have the balls to use their real name.
Dan rocks as a manager. He works non-stop for his clients and gets shit done.
These posts read like abunch of jealous never will-bes who resent Ernie’s Farah’s success.
Get over yourselves.
Ummm…..no. Clearly many of those that deal with this guy have had bad experiences.
I’m surprised there are execs in this town that still take Dan Farah’s calls. He’s been blacklisted at mine and at many others.
Farah is awesome and has gotten me two sweet deals in the past few months. And didnt once make a play to be a producer. one of these deals was with a major network and he could have pushed to be a producer but instead he focussed on getting me a kick ass deal. He is the best! PS – name someone who has gotten more done at his age… yep, you are a douche, and not as successful as my manager
also, did you see the money he just got his client??!! who the fuck wouldnt want him kicking ass for them.
jealous jealous people hiding behind fake names. Dan kills it. End of story. Hate all you want, but Farah just made a huge deal.
oh, i dont think it’s hater-aid. You can make a big sale and still be a douche. Agents do it all the time. Heck, you can be a movie star and still be a douche. In fact, you probably are. Personality and how you treat people in doing your business and the job that you actually perform are mutually exclusive.
HOWEVER, i choose to believe that you can be 100% above board and considerate as someone in this business and still get ahead. And no, i’m not being naive. Tom Hanks has a rep for being the nicest guy in the business and he certainly has not finished last.
“development exec” – while you talk about the importance of treating people well, I find myself laughing because you are saying this while slandering someone in a public manner without even revealing your identity. Try practicing what you preach. Try being classy, try being a good person. Any truly good person is smart enough to know you are being a bad person by slandering someone in a public forum. And any semi intelligent person knows you are truly a douche for doing this all under a fake name as opposed to saying who you are. Even though public slandering is low class, me and the other good people out there would at least maybe respect you 1% if you had the courage to put your name behind your words.
What about Tom Hanks’ agent?
Ready Player one is AWESOME, as are all the reviews this week since the book went on sale!