 The project was greenlit by Fox Searchlight, who gained control of it from Artisan in July 2003 and a start date announced for late September.After over 100 rejection letters, Pickett’s new agent at Trident Media Group went back out with his still unpublished novel and ended up selling it in a fire sale to St. Martin’s Press for $5,000.It was published in June 2004, four months before the film was released.