Writers around the world are pounding computer keys or scribbling as fast as they can in notebooks — as part of the annual Write A Novel in a Month project. It kicked off today and writers have until November 30 to produce 50,000 words — that’s a short novel of 175 pages. Last year, 165,000 writers reportedly took the challenge and 30,000 were victorious.

This popular creative writing venture is run by a non-profit, which has a host of sponsors this year including Amazon.com. The word count of 50,000 words is a lot, but I know writers who have taken this challenge and achieved that goal.

Organizers admit the project  emphasizes persistence and output, rather than the details of the novel writing craft. However, for those who have been procrastinating about writing “that novel” this is consider a good “kick-in-the-pants” to get cranking.

More details and a ton of support and encouragement here.  By the way, you have to be patient, the  National Novel Writing Month website is getting heavy traffic today so it’s a bit sluggish.

Another Dr. Seuss classic headed to the big screen

Some big name stars have signed on for the film adaptation of  “The Lorax,” by Dr. Seuss. In his classic style of word play and rhymes, Dr. Seuss aka Theodore Seuss Geisel, creates a delightful tale about the ecology crisis in this children’s story.

Actor Danny Devito reportedly has signed on to be the voice of an orange environmentalist, while Zac Ephron will play the hero, Ted, and Betty White his grandmother.  The animated film will be shot in 3D and is tentatively set for release in 2012, according to Galleycat. More on this project here.

President Obama to go live on “The Steve Harvey Morning Show”

Steve Harvey is a very busy man. The actor, comedian, and author has a new book coming out in December, “Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find, Keep, and Understand a Man.” Harvey’s previous advice book, “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment,” was a New York Times bestseller and is being developed into a film.

Harvey dishes some of his relationship advice on his nationally syndicated radio program, “The Steve Harvey Morning Show.” Yesterday a friend, Dee Dee Brown, sent out an e-mail reminder that President Obama would be the special guest, tomorrow, Wednesday, October, 27 on that show.

“The Steve Harvey Morning Show” is carried locally on Steve Wonder’s station, KJLH 102.3 FM. The show is on 6-10 a.m. Also, you can listen to “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” online as well, details on the KJLH site. 

Oh, Harvey  is also the host of the TV game show, “Family Feud.” Like I said, he’s a very busy man.

More trouble for Charlie Sheen

There are reports out that Actor, Charlie Sheen, was taken to a New York hospital early this morning, after an incident in a hotel room. There are conflicting reports about what happened and if the actor was intoxicated. 

Sheen has had a number of run-ins with the law and a lot of personal drama. He’s the star of the popular TV series, ” Two and a Half Men.” More on The Wrap.

TV producer/Actor/Writer Paul Reiser is going after his third bestseller. Reiser just inked a deal with Hyperion Books for “Parenthood.”  According to the publishing website, Galleycat, “Parenthood” is a follow-up to his  other successful books about family.

Reiser’s two previous bestsellers from the 1990s are : ”Couplehood,” a funny look at romance and marriage, and “Babyhood,” a hilarious take on  becoming a father for the first time.

The stand-up comic has two sons, ages 10 and 15. In the new book, “Parenthood,” Reiser will reportedly meditate on “parenting, marriage, and midlife.” Reiser says the third book came naturally: “After many years of trying to master the art of being a great husband and father, I’ve decided to write this book so my children will finally have all the proof they need that I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Reiser has appeared in a number of films, but probably is best known for the popular 1990s TV sitcom that he starred in and co-created, “Mad About You.” Reiser’s new book is set to publish next May, at the same time as his new TV series, “The Paul Reiser Show,” is due to launch on NBC.

 Hot Hollywood Movie Deal

I thought it was a bizarre combination when the novel came out last spring: President Abraham Lincoln and vampires. No matter. Hollywood is hot to take this property to the big screen. Several studios were bidding on the project, but over the weekend, 20th Century Fox came out the victor, according to Nikki Finke & Mike Fleming over at Deadline.com.

Los Angeles Author Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel, “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter” has our 14th President taking out the blood suckers and their slave-owning allies, in revenge for a vampire killing his mother. Oh, it’s going to be made in 3D. Wow! More on the deal at Deadline.com

WGA announces awards for New Media writing

The Writers Guild of America awards ceremony next February will include two new categories: Writing Original New Media and Writing Derivative New Media.  WGA-West President John Wells explained the need for the additions in a news release: ““New media writers play an essential role in entertaining, educating, and engaging audiences in the digital arena. These new awards pay tribute to their talents and to the diversity of work being done under Writers Guild contracts.”

The WGA will be accepting submissions through November 23, 2010. Details on eligibility and the new awards on the WGA -West website.  

More on the Facebook movie

“The Social Network,” the new movie about Facebook, is the number one flick in the nation. Also, now there’s growing Oscar buzz surrounding the movie. Deadline has that as well as a tidbit about how the screenwriter of the film, Aaron Sorkin, collected a cool $3 million for his work. Who says screenwriting doesn’t pay the bills?

Catching up on …

Some good obits and remembrances of some recently departed celebs over on the  Los Angeles Times website – among them, Actor/Artist Tony Curtis and  TV Producer/Author Stephen J. Cannell.  Cannell was not only a great talent, but a generous writer who was willing to share his knowledge and experiences with other scribes.  I heard Cannell speak to writers’ groups a couple of times — and each time he was terrific.

 Lindsay Lohan’s brother speaks out

Reports are out that troubled Actress, Lindsay Lohan, has voluntarily entered rehab. This will be the fifth time around for Lohan. Her brother, Michael Lohan Jr., says his sister is “fully committed” to making rehab work this time.  Also, he blamed Lohan’s past failures at getting clean on “leeches” in her social circle. More on the People website.

Heroic pilot’s story optioned by Hollywood producers

Photo: Gary Friedman/ Los Angeles Times -- Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and wife Lorrie at the Rose Parade in Pasadena on January 1, 2010

  Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s incredible story is going to be a movie. Captain Sully became a hero on January 15, 2009, when he landed a crippled U.S. Airways jetliner, like a glider, on the Hudson River saving the crew and 155 passengers on board.

Captain Sully was the Grand Marshal of the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade. Also, he wrote his memoir, “Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters,” with Jeffrey Zaslow. Hollywood Producers, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall  have teamed up with Flashlight Films to option the memoir and develop it into a movie. More details on The Wrap.  

Actor Gene Hackman’s new book

Gene Hackman is going solo for his new novel. The actor has signed a deal with Pocket Books for a western set in 19th century New Mexico, according to GalleyCat. He’s co-authored three other westerns.

Hackman has appeared in nearly 100 films. He won the Best Actor Oscar for the “French Connection” (1971) and Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in “Unforgiven” (1992). Hackman is such a good character actor that it’s said he’s worth watching even in a bad movie.

Hackman  new western, “Jubal’s Bounty,” is due out next July.

Comcast’s Steve Burke replacing Zucker

It didn’t take long for NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker’s replacement to be announced.  No surprise, one of the key players in the Comcast/ NBC Universal deal, Steve Burke, is taking over Zucker’s job. Burke is Comcast’s chief operating officer. Interesting these changes are happening before the Comcast/NBC Universal deal gets final approval from the Feds. Read more on The Wrap.

The new drama, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” rolled right over the competition this weekend to become the number one film in the country. This sequel to the 1987 film, “Wall Street,” collected an estimated $19 million at the domestic Box Office.   

Oliver Stone directed both the original and the sequel. “Wall Street : Money Never Sleeps” picks up 23 years after the original with Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko out of prison and reformed. Douglas won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in “Wall Street.” In the sequel, Gekko tries to warn Wall Street right before the 2008 financial meltdown. The cast includes Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, and Carey Mulligan.

In second place, a new 3D animation, “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole,” with around $16.3 million. The film is based on an adventure fantasy book series by Kathryn Lasky.

“The Town”, last week’s number top film, fell to third place earning an estimated $16 million. The teen comedy, “Easy A”  landed in fourth with about $10.7 million.

Rounding out the top five, the new romantic comedy, “You Again” with an estimated $8.3 million. Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristen Bell, Sigourney Weaver, and Betty White star. The film is about a young woman who discovers her older brother is about to marry the girl who bullied her in high school.

 Lindsay Lohan back on the streets

Photo: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times -- Lindsay Lohan heading to court in Beverly Hills , September 24, 2010

 After a freaky Friday that included court drama and a short stay in jail, Actress Lindsay Lohan is a free woman once again. After failing a court-ordered drug test, Lohan appeared in a Beverly Hills court yesterday. True to his word, Judge Elden Fox, sent her to the slammer for 30 days without bail.

However within hours, Lohan’s lawyer got another Los Angeles Superior Court judge to reverse the bail ruling. Lohan’s lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, pointed out defendants convicted of misdemeanors are allowed bail under the law. Sometime before midnight, Lohan walked free on $300,000 bond.

Did Lohan get a break because she’s a celebrity? Folks are debating that today. The way I see it, the major difference between Lohan and the average inmate in Los Angeles County jail is the money to pay for lawyers and to post bail.  The Los Angeles Times has more on the debate here.  

Jay-Z’s memoir and hip hop decoder

Business Mogul/Hip Hop Artist, Jay-Z, has a book coming out. It’s a memoir and a decoder for 36 of Jay-Z’s songs — which provide an intimate look at his art, according to the publishing site Galleycat.

The printed and e-book formats of “Decoded” include illustrations and lyric analysis as well as the autobiography content. “Decoded” goes on sale in mid- November, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

 NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker on the way out

No surprise, NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker is leaving the network. Zucker made the announcement himself in a company memo yesterday. NBC is in fourth place and who can forget Zucker’s orchestration of the Conan O’Brien/Jay Leno financial/public relations disaster.

Zucker apparently got the word from Comcast that once it’s deal to buy NBC is official, he would be getting the boot. Unlike most NBC employees who lose their jobs at the network and barely score chump change, Zucker will probably get one of those multi-million-dollar executive parachutes. More on Zucker’s departure at The Wrap.

President Barack Obama has another bestselling book to his credit without going on a promotional tour or doing any of those author interviews. In fact the picture book, “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters,” doesn’t hit store shelves for another two months, but it’s already a hot seller.

President Obama was inspired to write the book by his daughters, Malia and Sasha. “Of Thee I Sing” is a tribute to 13 Americans, including trailblazers Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackie Robinson, and George Washington, as well as to the ideals that helped shape our nation, according to the Publishers Weekly website.  It is illustrated by Loren Long and published by Knopf  Books, a division of Random House.

“Of Thee I Sing” is due out on November 16 in both hardcover and e-book. Proceeds reportedly will be donated to a scholarship fund for the children of deceased and disabled soldiers.  

“Of Thee I Sing” is in the top 20 on the Barnes & Noble  and Amazon.com bestseller lists.

President Obama’s previous bestsellers are “Dreams of My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope.”

Another member of the Schwarzenegger family is gearing up for a publicity blitz. Katherine Schwarzenegger is the 20-year-old daughter of Actor/Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and former TV Journalist/Author, Maria Shriver.

The USC student is set to go on a promotional tour in the next few weeks for her first book, “Rock What You’ve Got: Secrets to Loving Your Inner and Outer Beauty from Someone Who’s Been there and Back.” Schwarzenegger says her own struggles with self-worth and  body image prompted her to write a book to inspire young girls.

“You don’t have to look like you’re on a billboard to feel beautiful. I really wanted to correct girls’ perception of that.” Schwarzenegger said in a PR Newswire press release.  

Also, the book is about growing up with famous parents and relatives –the Kennedy family. Schwarzenegger says that at home, her father is more of a food watchdog than her mother. She says that when Arnold the movie star was preparing for a movie role, he would tear through the house, trashing all the ice cream and junk food.

According to the Barnes & Noble website, the busy Southland college junior also blogs about body image and self-esteem for the ABC Family show “Huge.”

Katherine Schwarzenegger’s book, “Rock What You’ve Got,” goes on sale next Tuesday, September 14.

TV reality show judge wins Larry King’s job

The British Talk Show host-turned- “America’s Got Talent” Judge, Piers Morgan, is Larry King’s replacement. Rumors about the deal have been in the wind for weeks. Today CNN made the official announcement. 

Earlier this summer, King announced he would be retiring from his high-profile interview program, “Larry King Live,” this fall, after 25 years.

Deadline.com has a report on the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing that got Morgan the job.

Hollywood and book readers hot for “The Hunger Games” series 

The final installment of the “Hunger Games” book series is a monster hit. Galleycat reports the publisher, Scholastic, announced “Mockingjay” sold an incredible 450,000 copies in hardcover and ebooks since its release on August 24. That’s around 45,000 books a day! The publisher reportedly is printing a second run of 400,000 hardcover copies.

Suzanne Collins’ YA (Young Adult) fantasy series has made a variety of bestseller lists, including Barnes & Noble, The New York Times, and USA Today. Lionsgate has bought the film rights to the first book in the series, “The Hunger Games.”  The script is written and reportedly several directors are circling the project.

George Clooney hangs onto the Box Office lead

Apparently “The American” is getting some good recommendations from moviegoers. The George Clooney thriller won the Labor Day Holiday weekend domestic Box Office and continues to out run the competition this week.

 The thriller is about an American assassin who finds himself marked for death. Three of my friends saw “The American” over the weekend. They say Clooney was great eye-candy, but didn’t think the film was worth the price of admission — especially at $11.50 each.

“The American” raked up a weak $16.6 million over the three-day-holiday, followed by the new action flick “Machete” in second with $14 million. The “Machete” plot revolves around a Mexican immigrant/renegade who gets caught up in a political conspiracy. It stars Danny Trejo, Steven Seagal, and Jessica Alba.

The crime drama “Takers” took third with $13.5 million. “The Last Exorcism” scared up $8.7 million for fourth and rounding out the top five the new romantic comedy, “Going the Distance” with $8.5 million. In “Going the Distance” a couple tries to make it work even though he lives in New York and she in San Francisco. Drew Barrymore leads a cast that includes Justin Long and Christina Applegate.

Rosie O’Donnell gets new daytime talk show

Comedienne/Talk Show Host Rosie O’Donnell is headed back to daytime television on the new Oprah Winfrey Network. O’Donnell’s new talker will debut next year on OWN.

“Rosie is an undeniable talent who has captivated TV audiences for nearly 20 years,” said Oprah Winfrey in a PR Newswire press release. “She’s a true original, who brings her authentic voice, dynamic energy and pure passion to everything she does.”

“It’s an honor and a privilege to work with Oprah Winfrey on her network,” said Rosie O’Donnell. “I’m excited to be back on daytime television.”

O’Donnell has won six consecutive DayTime Emmys for Outstanding Talk Show Host.   “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” ran from 1996 to 2002.

Hollywood producers buy novel for $2 million-plus

Author Nicholas Sparks just scored a major Hollywood deal.  Movie rights for Sparks’ new novel, “Safe Haven,”were snatched up in a bidding war. The book plot centers on romance and a mysterious woman with a dark secret in a North Carolina town. The selling price – $2-$5 million.

“Safe Haven” publishes next month. Reviews and more on the novel up on the Barnes & Noble website.

Hollywood has had a love affair with Sparks’ romantic novels for some time. Several have been turned  into successful films including “Dear John” (2010) , and “The Notebook” (2004), and “Message in a Bottle” “1999.  Deadline.com has more on Sparks’ new deal.

Unauthorized bio of Angelina Jolie

Actress Angelina Jolie has a hot new movie out, “Salt.” In two weeks of release, the spy thriller has racked up about  $79 million at the domestic Box Office, but a new book about Jolie may be even hotter. The  Los Angeles Times has a review of “Angelina” by Andrew Morton. Check it out  here.

Bristol Palin to marry Levi Johnston

That Palin family – never out of the media spotlight for long. The latest news,  Bristol Palin is engaged to former boyfriend and father of her son, Levi Johnston. The couple broke the news to US magazine, which posted the exclusive story and some photos on its website today. The Palins really like US magazine. Remember, Sarah Palin on the above US cover with the couple’s son, Tripp, back in 2008?  

Online vampire book sells to major publisher

Photo from www.martaacosta.com

San Francisco Bay Area Author Marta Acosta has a thing for vampires. Acosta sold her latest fang book by posting it on the website scribd. The YA novel, “The Shadow Girl of Birch Grove,” got tons of reads and was bought recently by Tor Books. GalleyCat has the scoop on how Acosta’s novel scored with online readers and the sci-fi fantasy publisher.

 Tribute to Dennis Hopper

“Dennis Hopper Double Standard” now showing in The Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Los Angeles. Celebs like Liv Tyler, Diane Keaton, and Reese Witherspoon turned out for the opening party last Saturday, for this exhibit showcasing the art career of the late, Dennis Hopper. The actor/artist died last May,after a battle with prostate cancer.                                                                                                                            
Vogue website has more on the star-studded affair. The MOCA site has details on the exhibit, which runs through September 26.

Mel Gibson’s mouth gets him in trouble again

The Internet and Hollywood are buzzing about Actor/Director/Producer Mel Gibson’s latest foot-in-mouth performance.  An audio recording of Gibson using the “N-word” in a tirade against his ex-girlfriend, Russian singer, Oksana Grigorieva, was followed by reports that the entertainer is being investigated for domestic violence. And there’s more. WME agency has confirmed it recently fired Gibson as a client.

Remember, Gibson was hit by an onslaught of bad publicity after a tape revealed the drunken actor making anti-Semitic remarks during a DUI stop in Malibu, back in 2006.

Gibson is working on a number of projects right now. It will be interesting to see if Hollywood will again be forgiving of Gibson in order to keep the money and projects flowing.  Nikki Finke over at Deadline.com/Hollywood has a post about Gibson’s latest troubles, with over 200 comments, check it out  here.  The Wrap covered the story as well.

Summer reading:  Bestsellers at Barnes & Noble and Amazon

At the top of the Barnes & Noble bestselling paperback list, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Millennium Trilogy Series #1). The thriller/murder mystery is about the disappearance of a Swedish heiress and it’s by Journalist, Stieg Larsson. The novel was a big smash in Europe. Now it’s a hot seller here.

Number two on the list, Larsson’s “The Girl Who Played with Fire”  (Millennium Triligy #2), and in third, the romance  ”One Day,” by Screenwriter/Novelist,  David Nicholls.

Over on Amazon, Larsson’s hardcover thriller,”The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” is number one, followed by the paperback version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” in second place.

Man plays same lottery numbers for two years and wins $10 million

It took two years, but a Southern California player finally hit the jackpot in the SuperLotto Plus game on June 20, 2010.  Last Wednesday, July 7, the man, who wants to remain anonymous, cashed in the winning ticket worth $10 million.

Lottery officials say he told them the numbers came to him in a dream two years ago. He played them religiously and it paid off.  The ticket was bought at Jack’s Liquor, 3720 West Olympic Boulevard in L.A. The store gets $50,000 for selling that winning ticket.

Meanwhile, a winning lottery ticket bought more than two months ago at the El  Mexicano Market, 6625 South Avalon Boulevard in L.A., has not been cashed in yet. That ticket is worth $179,428.

It had five of the winning numbers, but not the Mega Ball, from that historic May 4, 2010 Mega Millions draw. Those numbers are: 21, 9, 36, 43, 31, and the Mega Ball 8.  You might remember, the jackpot of $266 million was won by a producer at NBC-4 here in Burbank and her husband.

Speaking of Mega Millions, the jackpot today stands at $52 million. No one had all of last night’s winning numbers: 1, 31, 33, 34, 50, and the Mega Ball 41. However, three lucky tickets sold in the Golden State are each worth $178, 516.

 A Southland lottery winner cashed in that missing $7 million SuperLotto Plus jackpot winning ticket last Monday, June 14. This is the unclaimed jackpot I posted about a few days ago. The ticket was bought in the 7-Eleven store at 3450 Overland Avenue in Los Angeles for the June 5 draw. Oh, the 7-Eleven gets a $35,000 bonus for selling that winning ticket.

 The owner of the lucky ticket wants to remain anonymous. According to lottery officials, the winner chose the annuity option and will receive increasing payments over 26 years, beginning with the first for $175,000. What are his plans?  The winner disclosed he intends to pay off some credit cards, some other bills, and take a long-awaited trip to Disney World!

Actress Demi Moore nails a $2 million book deal

Movie roles have been pretty slim for Actress, Demi Moore, lately, but she just scored a huge deal in the publishing biz. Over on Deadline.com, Mike Fleming reports Moore’s reps are working on the fine points of a book contract with HarperCollins. The word is this will not be a trip down memory lane. More here.

Screenwriting duo hook a deal to write “Monster High” musical

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are very busy screenwriters/producers these days. And they are making a lot of dough at it. Gough and Millar are the showrunners for the TV hit, “Smallville.” Also, they wrote such male-focused films as ”Lethal Weapon 4,” “Shanghai Noon,” and “Spider-Man 2.”  For a some variety, they produced last year’s “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” which rang up $80 million at the domestic Box Office.

Now Gough and Millar are working on a monster musical about the trials and tribulations of high school — as experienced by the off-spring of Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman. “Monster High” is based on a new entertainment/toy line from Mattel. The Hollywood Reporter has a nice write up on the project. 

“Alice in Wonderland” is still packing them in at the movie theaters, especially at the big 3D complexes. Tim Burton’s live action/animated fantasy adventure of the classic tale delighted audiences to the tune of about $34.5 million this weekend. “Alice” easily held onto the title of the number one film in the U.S. for the third straight week. The domestic total for this mega-hit has reached $266 million.

Several new movies opened and two managed to do okay. The family flick,”Diary of a Wimpy Kid, ” debuted better than expected with around $21.8 million. Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron star in the adventures of a middle school kid and his best friend during a school year. The film is based on a book of the same title in a popular illustrated series by Jeff Kinney.

Close behind in third place,”The Bounty Hunter,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. It’s about a struggling bounty hunter who gleefully sets out to bring in his ex-wife who has jumped bail. “The Bounty Hunter” captured an estimated $21 million, which is in line with expectations.

In fourth, the new Jude Law and Forest Whitaker action/thriller “Repo Men.”  It’s set in the future where repo men repossess body organs when patients miss their payments. It earned a meager $6.1 million. Rounding out the top five, the R-rated romantic comedy, “She’s Out of My League” with around $6 million.

Hollywood is tapping a new source for movie ideas — blogs!  I have heard of other projects based on websites, but this latest one, being developed for Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon, sounds like a real winner. Over on the deadline.com/New York site, Mike Fleming is reporting that Columbia Pictures has made a deal with blogger/author Ree Drummond for a romantic comedy, ”The Pioneer Woman.”

Drummond is known as ”The Pioneer Woman” who writes a popular blog with the same title,   http://thepioneerwoman.com/  The website description says she’s “plowing through life in the country  …one calf nut at a time.” Drummond is a self-confessed city girl who fell in love with a cowboy and is now making a lot of hay, ah, money writing and blogging about her life on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma. 

 Last year Drummond’s cookbook, “The Pioneer Woman Cooks, recipes from an accidential country girl,” came out and became a New York Times bestseller.

Next Valentine’s Day, William Morrow will release, “Black Heels to Tractor Wheels,” Drummond’s story of love and adventure in the country. On her website, Drummond describes the book as “… the complete saga (to date) of the rip-roaring true story of how I met my husband, Marlboro Man, and how I went from spoiled city girl to domestic ranch wife in the blink of an eye.”

Spec script season in full swing

Some interesting spec scripts making the rounds of the production companies and studios lately. Literary manager Kathy Muraviov is shopping, “The One” by Stan Evans, according to the Spec Chaser site. This is a romance about a woman who gets the ultimate choice: one week with her “soul mate” or a lifetime with a man she cares about, but who is not “the one.”  

Also, spec scripts are being snatched up and bought. On the Spec Chaser, the spec screenplay “Ruthless,” by Cooper Layne, is marked sold!

“Ruthless” is a crime thriller about an ex-con who shows up suddenly in a small Louisiana town and begins to cause havoc by exposing the secrets of the town folks. The script sold to Double Nickel Productions.

A super opening for the latest teaming of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. The suspense thriller, “Shutter Island” debuted with an estimated $40.2 million this weekend at the domestic Box Office, to become the number one film in the country.

“Shutter Island,” set in the 1950s, is about the investigation of a murder and some bizarre medical practices at a hospital for the criminally insane. This is the film version of Dennis Lehane’s novel of the same title. Lehane’s novels,”Gone, Baby, Gone (1998),” and “Mystic River (2001)” were both turned into successful movies.  ”Shutter Island” is the fourth movie hook-up for Scorsese and DiCaprio. They also worked together on “Gangs of New York” (2002), “The Aviator” (2004),  and “The Departed” (2006).

As for the rest of the weekend contenders, the romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day” came in a distant second with about $17 million. Last weekend, “Valentine’s Day” was sitting pretty in the top spot. No matter, in two weeks the star-studded comedy has raked in around $87.4 million at the domestic Box Office.

The blockbuster hit, “Avatar” landed in third, earning $16 million. The 10 week domestic total — $687 million! The adventure fantasy, “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” scored $15.3 million. And rounding out the top five,  the horror drama “The Wolfman” with $9.8 million. 

Director Steven Soderbergh’s action thriller sells to Warner Bros.

The sluggish Hollywood film script market is picking up. After some bidding, Director Steven Soderbergh’s movie project, “Contagion,” sold to Double Feature Films at Warner Bros. The budget $60 million. The script, written by Scott Z. Burns, revolves around a viral outbreak. Several top notch stars are attached to the project including, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, and Jude Law. More on the project and the bidding at Deadline.com/Hollywood.  

 Actress Tori Spellings has two books coming out in 2010

Tori Spelling is having quite a bit of success as an author. The book publishing website Galleycat claims Spelling’s two previous books, the adventures in celebrity parenthood “Mommywood,” and the tell-all memoir, “sTORI Telling” have sold nearly a million copies. Another Spelling adult book is due out in June and it’s tentatively titled, “Uncharted terriTORI.”

Later in September, Simon & Schuster is publishing the actress’ first children’s book, “Presenting… Tallulah.” It’s about a spunky little girl who discovers who she really is with the help of some special friends. More on Spelling and her books here.

Kathryn Bigelow’s star is rising — not the case for most Hollywood female directors and writers! 

“The Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow is the favorite to win the Oscar for best feature film director at the Academy Awards next month. Lately, Bigelow has been showered with awards, accolades, and deal offers. All well deserved. Despite Bigelow’s success, 2009 was a “terrible year” for the majority of female film directors and writers, according to a report on The Wrap website. The stats are grim. Read it here.  

“Valentine’s Day” scores on a record breaking Presidents Day weekend

The new romantic ensemble comedy, “Valentine’s Day” is on a nice roll at the domestic Box Office. “Valentine’s Day” helped produce the biggest February weekend and biggest Presidents Day weekend ever. In four days, Friday-Monday, the celebrity-packed chick flick earned $63.1 million, according to Box Office Mojo. “Valentine’s Day” now ranks up there with “Sex and the City” and “He’s Not That Into You.” Two other very different films debuted well last weekend, too. Details and analysis here.

Sooner or later it was going to happen. “Avatar” getting dethroned, but who suspected a chick flick would kick the sci-fi epic out of the top spot at the domestic Box Office. Yet, that’s just what occurred on this Super Bowl weekend. The military love story, “Dear John” trounced “Avatar” with an estimated $32 million debut to become the number one film in the country.

“Dear John” stars Channing Tatum as a U.S. Special Forces Army sergeant who falls in love with a college student played by Amanda Seyfried, however, their romance gets tested when the sergeant re-enlists after the 9-11 attacks. “Dear John” is based on the best selling novel of the same title by Nicholas Sparks, who has had four of his other books turned into movies as well: “Message in a Bottle (199),” “A Walk to Remember (2002),” “The Notebook (2004),” and “Nights in Rodanthe (2008).”

The mega-hit, “Avatar” slipped to second after seven weeks at number one with around $23.6 million, bringing its domestic take to a humongous $630 million. In third, earning $8 million, another new film, “From Paris With Love.” It’s an action/spy thriller shot in Paris, starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

The Mel Gibson crime drama, “Edge of Darkness” came in fourth with $7 million, followed by the family comedy “Tooth Fairy” in fifth with about $6.5 million.

The recession and the tight job market have made the workplace even wilder and crazier for far too many overburdened employees. No matter how demanding or over-the-top the boss or office manager may be or simple-minded the job, quitting is not an option. Some of these workers need a place to vent and that’s where the website Please Fire Me comes in. It’s a site where workers can anonymously diss the jobs they can’t afford to ditch. 

I found the link for Pleasefireme.com in a post on the book publishing site GalleyCat. The “why you hate the job you can’t leave” site was created by literary manager, Adam Chromy of Artists and Artisans to promote his client, David Ellis Dickerson’s memoir, “House of Cards, Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions.” The book is about Dickerson’s adventures in corporate America as a greeting card writer at Hallmark.

If the book is half as entertaining as the Please Fire Me website then it’ll be a bestseller. I gotta tell ya, some of the worker gripes and boss-outings are throw-down-funny, in fact, I was screaming with laughter over a few of them. Some comments describe the strangest, the weirdest, and most ridiculous behavior in the workplace. While others were sad and poignant revelations about how workers are mistreated and exploited.  You know, a lot of it has the ring of truth. Whatever happened to professionalism in the office and all those legal and government regulations that are supposed to protect employees from abuse?

Here are some of the worker complaints:

“Please fire me. My boss sent an email asking me to find her a stuffed animal frog wearing pink high heels and order it online pronto. And she prioritized the email.”

“Please fire me. My boss gave me a one-hour lecture on the two most important things in life: a good mattress and good shoes. I feel bad that his wife and three kids didn’t make the list.”

“Please fire me. I just booked Valentine’s Day reservations for my boss at a restaurant that I’ll never be able to afford to eat because of how little I get paid. “

“Please fire me. I just caught my old boss copying down my goals from last year’s review and noting them as his own for this year.”

“Please fire me. I’ve been working here for a year. Since then, my last two bosses were fired and a high school girl who started last month just got promoted to be my new boss.”

“Please fire me. I’ve written four bestselling novels at my desk in the past two years and no one has noticed.”

“Please fire me. I work at NBC.”

For more revelations from frustrated workers click over to the Please Fire Me site.  Oh yeah, I’ve added this site to my favorites list.