There’s a
new Company cover!
And it’s… remarkably similar to
the old one.
In fact, all Doubleday did is go down to the
staff cafeteria, buy a donut, photograph it, and whack it
on the cover in place of the stock photo. Unless you look
closely, it’s the same cover. If you do look closely,
you might notice that Doubleday’s donut is a little soggier,
but that’s about it.
I am not quite clear on why changing one donut for another,
near-identical donut, helps anybody, but apparently it’s
something to do with image rights. Although that begs the
question why in the first place… no, no, that way lies madness.
I also have an on-sale date, at least for the US and Canada:
January 17, 2006! It’ll be a hardcover with a RRP of US$22.95,
although I see Amazon.com will already let you
pre-order
for US$15.61. What nice people.
Yesterday I got a mention in Publishers Weekly, because of the
possibility of a Company film deal. Here’s the snippet—although,
because this is a trade mag, they give away far too much of the plot.
So I’m blanking bits.
Satire may have a pretty dismal record at the box office, but at least one
studio won’t be dissuaded. Paramount has made an offer for Company (Doubleday,
Jan. 2006) the latest corporate satire from former ad man
Max Barry (ne Maxx Barry).
In the novel, a new employee at a faceless conglomerate can’t figure out what the
company actually produces. Since he has very little to do all day, he makes it his
mission to find out. He discovers that he and his co-workers are ___ ___ ____ in
an __________ _____ run by _______ company ______ human behavior __ _ corporate
environment—___ ______ ____ set in __ ______ park. Perhaps Paramount is mindful of
another send-up of cubicle culture, 1999’s Office Space. That cult favorite by
Beavis and Butt-head creator Mike Judge flopped in its initial theatrical release,
but went on to become a huge earner in its DVD afterlife. It still ranks as one of
Fox’s bestselling DVD titles of all time. Luke Janklow of Janklow & Nesbit and
CAA’s Brian Siberell represent Barry.
Jason Anthony, Publishers Weekly, July 11, 2005
