Stereogum and Pitchfork just got wood. It’s an indie-rock nerd’s wet dream. Craig Finn of literary glorified bar band The Hold Steady, has been hired to write the screenplay adaptation of Chuck Klosterman’s celebrated book, “Fargo Rock City.”
Good for Chuck (a pal of ours) and it’s like, what, his third book that has been optioned this decade? “Killing Yourself To Live: 85% of a True Story,” a non-fiction novel about a rock pilgrimage Klosterman took, visiting the locales where famous rock musicians died (Kurt Cobain, Buddy Holly, members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Great White), was optioned last fall.
His essay-driven, pop culture-infused collection “Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs,” was optioned years ago, but we’re still not sure what happened with that one (an omnibus film maybe?).
Finn is actually writing and producing ‘Fargo Rock’ — a coming of age tale based on Klosterman’s growin’ up salad days in North Dakota as a rare and outnumbered fan of heavy metal — along with a longtime writer on CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman,” Tom Ruprecht.
Whereas recent teenage-rock films like “Detroit Rock City,” have failed both artistically and commercially, this is one we’re obviously rooting for. It’ll be more than just a niche hesher rock film too. “Heavy metal is kind of a common bond among a group of friends,” Ruprecht told RiskyBiz. “It’s the language they speak. But this will also be a universal story of dorky kids trying to be cool.”
The guys are writing their first draft of their adaptation now and will seek third-party studios and funding when they’re complete. Chuck is on his sixth book and his latest, “Eating the Dinosaur,” another collection of essays, just came out earlier this week. Congrats once more.
