Hollywood – James Frey rocketed to national attention as the memoirist who was anointed, then eviscerated, on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” But before that, Frey spent nearly a decade in Hollywood, hanging out at industry barbecues, hustling movie ideas and co-producing a few indie flicks.
Frey had become the New York-based best-selling author of “A Million Little Pieces” by the time he returned over the holidays to throw what one observer described as a classic Hollywood fit. A screenwriter wanted to change the details of Frey’s memoir of addiction for a film script being written for Warner Bros.
Frey said they didn’t have the right to alter the facts in the book, the observer recalled this week. “How could they do this? This was his life! How could they change the facts of his life?” Eventually, Frey fired his agency.
“In light of what we now know, the reasons that James left our agency are certainly ironic, and it’s nice being on the right side of irony,” said Jeremy Zimmer, a top agent at United Talent Agency and one of Frey’s agents before the confrontation.
Reached by phone, Frey said: “I can’t comment on any of that stuff. I’m sure I know what you’re going to write.” A few minutes later, Frey added, “All I wanted to do was write a book that would help people get through tough times, and I never meant for any of this to happen, and I’m sorry that it has.”
Frey’s own story line is rooted in Hollywood. He is listed at the Internet Movie Database website as director and writer of a small 1998 film called “Sugar: The Fall of the West.” He has a writing and story credit on the 1998 David Schwimmer movie “Kissing a Fool.” He’s listed as a co-producer of 2001’s “See Jane Run” and as a producer of the 2000 Luke Wilson film “Preston Tylk,” which was also released as “Bad Seed.”
The Frey affair has been a train wreck, with debris strewn from Manhattan publishing houses to Oprah’s VIP lounge.
According to sources, Brillstein-Grey warned Frey not to go on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on Jan. 26. But after firing Zimmer, Frey signed with Creative Artists Agency. Winfrey is one of CAA’s biggest clients. Frey did the show.
Frey’s deal to write two more books for Riverhead is “under discussion” because “the ground has shifted,” publicists there say. The ground has also shifted in Hollywood, where the future of Frey’s projects is under debate.
There’s his Fox TV story about the surfer turned private investigator. There’s the Hells Angels script he was going to write for Tony Scott. There’s the Jake Coburn book about New York prep schools he was going to adapt for Paramount and MTV Films.
And then, of course, there’s the movie version of “A Million Little Pieces” at Warner Bros., where some people had wanted to start shooting as early as spring (publicists had no comment). Frey had actually written a version of the script with Laurence Dunmore, but the studio didn’t like it.
The studio hired Mark Romanek, writer and director of the thriller “One Hour Photo” with Robin Williams. The new script that emerged touched off Frey’s year-end confrontation.
In Los Angeles, where “relationships” are paramount, the future of these projects may depend on how people feel about Frey. More than a few feel burned. Brillstein-Grey has dropped him as a client. Warner Bros. announced it is “re-evaluating” its plans for “A Million Little Pieces.”
