Dan Clowes and Terry Zwigoff, who worked together on the highly successful film adaptation of Clowes' Ghost World graphic novel, have signed a first-look deal with United Artists.  Clowes is currently working on a screenplay for his short story 'Art School Confidential,' which originally appeared in Eightball #7 (see 'Another Clowes Film in the Pipe').  One of Hollywood's most celebrated actors, John Malkovich is set to star in the black comedy, which United Artists will release domestically (Miramax will handle international distribution).  Clowes is currently polishing the script and the hope is that, schedules permitting, filming can begin sometime later this year.

While Ghost World was not a huge box office success like Tomb Raider, the film was extremely well reviewed and many pop culture retailers sold far more additional copies of Clowes' Ghost World graphic novel than they did of any Lara Croft books.  If Art School Confidential achieves a similar level of artistic and commercial success to that of Ghost World, Eightball comics and trade paperback collections could be very hot in 2004.