Grand Valley alumnus collaborates on latest 50 Cent film script

Brian Miller, a 1999 graduate of the School of Communications at Grand Valley State University, has co-written a movie script with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, currently being filmed in Grand Rapids.

With the working title of "Love Me, Love Me Not," the film tells the story of an all-star running back at the height of his football career, who is faced a sudden change-of-life event. Jackson plays the lead role and has been in Grand Rapids for a week filming scenes, on Grand Valley's campus and elsewhere, for a trailer to secure financial backing for the film. Other actors in the film include Lynn Whitfield and Mario Van Peebles. William Eubank is directing the film.

This is the third film collaboration between Miller and Jackson. Miller wrote and directed "Caught in the Crossfire," shot in Grand Rapids in May, and collaborated with Jackson on the script for the action thriller "Gun," which completed filming in Grand Rapids last month. Both films had Grand Valley alumni on their production crews.

Miller spoke with students in several classes during the past week, sharing his own road to Hollywood and encouraging them to take advantage of every opportunity to get involved and learn from the pros. Noting the Michigan film credit incentives and the new Hanger 42 studio in Walker, Miller told students they no longer need to move to Los Angeles to get started in the film industry. "You now have everything you need here and a growing number of opportunities," said Miller. "There's no other place like it."

From GVSU.edu

Beautiful Malice

Australian mother and small-business owner Rebecca James has sold world rights to her first two young adult novels for major bucks, going from mom to millionaire overnight after her manuscript was pulled out of the slush pile by a U.K. agent. The rights to Beautiful Malice and its sequel sold for $600,000 in the U.S. alone, according to the Wall Street Journal, who calls James the next J.K. Rowling.

Since the days of big advances for the heck of it seem to have disappeared with the recession, this signals that Bantam Dell expects a Rowling-sized payout once the books are published.

Beautiful Malice is a story of the friendship of two girls. One has lost her sister in a horrible murder; the other is a chilling and charming party girl. The series has been described as Twilight without the vampires ----and with the sex.

Kate Miciak, editorial director of Bantam Books, who won U.S. rights, said, “You had only to read the opening sentence ---“I did not go to Alice’s funeral’---to know that you had instantly fallen under the thrall of a strong narrative voice.” The book is scheduled for a September 2010 publication in the U.S.

From BookPage January 2010

Amazon Kindle iPhone App

If you want to jump on the Amazon eBook store without forking out for a Kindle, or alternatively want another way of reading your Kindle’s books, Amazon has just launched its Kindle iPhone app in 60 markets around the world, including little old Australia.

It’s a free download, and lets you sync your bookmarks and notes across your devices. Well worth the download, even if you hate the idea of eBooks as much as he idea of spreading marmite over cinnamon toast. Or anything, for that matter.

France to Digitize Its Own Literary Works

President Nicolas Sarcozy pledged nearly $1.1 billion on Monday toward the computer scanning of French literary works, audiovisual archives and historical documents, an announcement that underscored his government’s desire to maintain control over France's cultural heritage in an era of digitization.

Real Housewives of New Jersey Star Writes Book

Real Housewives of New Jersey star, Teresa Giudice, has sold a cookbook, Skinny Italian: Eat It and Enjoy It—Live La Bella Vita and Look Great Too!, to Brenda Copeland at Hyperion. Susan Ginsberg at Writers House brokered the deal, for world rights, and Hyperion is planning a May 2010 pub. In the cookbook, Giudice offers recipes for healthy Italian meals. The book will also feature behind-the-scenes details about the show, as well as pictures of Giudice and her family.

Clara Cannucciari's New Book

St. Martin’s Press celebrated the release of Clara's Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from the Great Depression over lunch at Carmine’s in Manhattan’s Theater District on December 7. Cannucciari garned a wide fan base with her YouTube videos on Depression-era cooking, which led to her book deal. Pictured here are executive editor Michael Flamini, Carmine’s executive chef Christian Ruiz, and Cannucciari.

Quote of the Day For the Writer

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

- Mark Twain