. It was collection of serialized comedic shorts, titled Eightball
, that really put him on the map. Since then we've seen a couple of those stories adapted for the big screen, most notably 2001's Ghost World and 2006's awful Art School Confidential
. Now it's looking like another of Clowes' stories is about to get the treatment, and I could scarcely think of a more perfect director to pair him up with. Alexander Payne, writer/director of Sideways, is set to helm an adaptation of Wilson, Clowes' most recent graphic novel about guy described as “a lonely, unemployed, self-loathing, passive-aggressive sad-sack who goes through life making himself and the people around him miserable.”
Kinda has Paul Giamatti written all over it, doesn't it? He's played that type of guy before, most notably in Sideways but also as Harvey Pekar in American Splendor
. I could do for a Payne/Giamatti reunion, anyway. It's been way too long.The project is being overseen by Fox Searchlight, but no other details are available at the moment. I consider Ghost World to be the most overlooked comic to film adaptation, proving rather early on that comics are more than just dudes in tights and silly masks.
