Another author has broken onto the scene from the midst of Monday night workshops with none other than Chuck Palahniuk. First it was Monica Drake. Now comes Chelsea Cain, whose debut novel Heartsick is a dark thriller about a detective tracking a serial killer whose snatching teenage girls up off the streets of Portland. Check out Chuck's praise for the book:

"With Gretchen Lowell, Chelsea Cain gives us the most compelling, most original serial killer since Hannibal Lecter." - Chuck Palahniuk

Chelsea's publishers were nice enough to send us some hardcovers of the book. And in just reading the first page, it's safe to say I'm already hooked. But wait, it gets better. Chuck and Chelsea shared a sort of interview/discussion about writing. The full piece can be found on the audio book of 'Heartsick'.
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This may be nothing, but Invisible Monsters popped up on the IMDB last week here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756666/. This project has long been in development with newcomer Jesse Peyronel behind the helm as writer and director. Jesse had a lot of success with a short film before impressing Chuck Palahniuk and his agent with his screenplay adaptation of Invisible Monsters. In fact, Chuck was so impressed that he fully endorsed Jesse's optioning of the project for one year to try and raise the money for it. It was during this year that all the rumors started. The one that stuck the most was that Jessica Biel would be starring as Shannon. Then Parker Posey's name began popping up too. And pretty soon, even Miramax Films had entered the mix. But when the year was up, and the option ran out, it seemed Monsters was no closer to a greenlight.
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Some of those articles we saw appear online and on The Cult yesterday already mentioned this, but I have an inside scoop about the shooting of 'Choke' that began last week from someone who was actually there and witnessed it all.

From Angry Ritch (on MySpace):
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From WCCO.com

Girl Seriously Injured After Sitting On Pool Drain

(AP) Minneapolis A 6-year-old Edina, Minn. girl is hospitalized after a horrific accident at a swimming pool.

Abigail Taylor was severely injured Tuesday when she sat over an open drain hole in a wading pool at the Minneapolis Golf Club. According to a posting by her family on the Caring Bridge Web site, the drain's powerful suction tore out part of her intestinal tract.

The family's account says it's a, quote, "medical miracle" that she's still alive. The online account was taken down late yesterday.

Read The Rest Of The Story Here

*Thanks to Alicia on MySpace for the scoop!

So I received some 'insider details' finally on the 'Choke' production from an anonymous source. This is big news, as it lists all the main players for the lead cast. Drum roll....

 

Victor - Sam Rockwell
Ida - Angelica Huston
Paige - Kelly MacDonald
Denny - Brad Henke
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This is a big one. Chuck emailed me a few days ago to give me the exclusive news that Choke is going into production on June 18th! Sam Rockwell is set to star, and first-timer Clark Gregg will be directing. A little history on Gregg: He wrote the Robert Zemeckis thriller What Lies Beneath and, as an actor, is a regular on the hit TV show The New Adventures of Old Christine. Gregg adapted Choke into screenplay form and has been championing the project for years now. God bless him and his tenacity as the film has finally been greenlit for production and Gregg will be getting his debut in the directing chair. Chuck also went on to tell me that the mom is most likely Glenn Close, Annette Benning or Juliana Moore.

Here's Gregg's IMDB page.

Enjoy!