Michael Bay Buys James Frey Sci-Fi: A Million Little Dollars (Almost)

Fri., Jul. 3, 2009 11:20 AM PDT by Jefferson Reid

Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

His name was mud after he got caught fabricating his Oprah-raved "memoir," A Million Little Pieces. But now James Frey's reputation, or at least his bank account, is getting transformed by roboto-destructo maestro, Michael Bay. That's because the Transformers director and DreamWorks reportedly just purchased film rights to Frey's, I Am Number Four, the first book in Frey's projected six-volume sci-fi series.

According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, Frey and his anonymous co-author scored an option in the high six figures. The book's story line involves alien teens assimilating into an Earth high school after their home planet is destroyed by an enemy species. And, wouldn't you just know, the bad aliens track the good ET's right back here to terra firma.

Sounds vaguely familiar right? A little bit like heroic Autobots vs. evil Decepticons messing up the Earth—with plenty of teen angst heaped on top. Now if Bay would only cast Megan Fox as an interstellar sexpot, we'd be all set. But after Meg's recent Transformer trashing interviews, we're not holding out much hope.