Score another one for the Grish! According to the Hollywood Reporter, Phoenix Pictures has picked up movie rights to Albemarle best-selling novelist John Grisham’s Playing for Pizza. The novel is something of a departure for Grisham, whose legal thrillers have raked in a gajillion dollars. It’s the story of a late-career NFL quarterback who signs with a semi-pro team in Parma, Italy, and gets a new lease on life. Phoenix, according to reports, is currently searching for a writer for Pizza. We take that to mean a screenwriter! Phoenix is the company that delivered the Robert Downey Jr. thriller Zodiac. Last year Grisham sold the rights to his nonfiction book An Innocent Man to George Clooeny’s production company.
His protagonist may play for pizza, but Grisham plays for box office receipts. He has sold another novel to Hollywood.