Filmbook: HBO might buy your book but where will it go?

Sarah Weinman (Publishers Marketplace, plus a ton of other places) has been keeping a running list of books purchased to adapt by HBO this year -- to which we can add, recently, THE CORRECTIONS and SWAMPLANDIA! (A few other properties we're keeping an eye on, although they weren't from 2011: THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS, coproduced by Oprah; I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR BAND, produced by Will Ferrell, starring Lizzy "Did you have an awesome time?" Caplan; AMERICAN TABLOID, coproduced by Tom Hanks.)

These are great buys provided that they actually get made, and forgive me for being a little skeptical about that. HBO is currently airing, by my count, 3 book adaptations -- "Game of Thrones," "Boardwalk Empire" and "True Blood." "True Blood" is rounding up on its fifth season (in '12) but the other two are only in their 2nd seasons. How many adaptations are they realistically going to run in a year? I'm not in their target audience (never subscribed to HBO, don't have basic cable) so maybe there's a clamor for it, but at the rate they're going we all will have had time to read all these books before they go up onscreen. Of course, A GAME OF THRONES was published in 1996... so either Franzen or Gaiman ought to be next.

Just to show I'm not a hater, my casting for "The Art Of Fielding" on HBO, ready, go: Liam Neeson as Guert, Max Greenfield plus about 30 pounds as Mike, Jessica Chastain as Pella (she's having a moment), Darren Criss as Owen (ditto) and blond American-accented Ben Whishaw as Henry. Do it this year, gents.