In any case, the bottom line appears to be that HC picked up the first four books in a series about "a group of alien teenagers who hide on earth after their planet is attacked by hostile invaders." Extremely interesting factoids:
(1) the publisher reportedly paid less than seven figures;
(2) the agent submitted the work anonymously (that is, without identifying Frey as the author);
(3) Frey will be co-authoring with a recent Columbia writing program graduate, Jobie Hughes; and
(4) Michael Bay of Transformers fame (and Pearl Harbor infamy) is on board to direct the movie(s), the rights to which sold before the novels themselves.
My immediate reaction upon reading news of this development was . . . ugh. The premise actually sounds fairly cool, but I confess to having certain not-so-positive feelings about the deal that are not unlike those self-pitying feelings that we authors sometimes have with regard to celebrity forays into fiction a la L.A. Candy, the recent smash from Lauren Conrad of The Hills fame.
But this isn't right. First, though I wasn't a fan of A Million Little Pieces, and setting aside the controversy relating to it, the fact is the guy wrote a book that tons of people liked, including one Oprah Winfrey. So, on some level, his writerly chops are legit.
Also, even if you view the James Frey project--titled "I Am Number Four"--as a kind of "celebrity" deal, there's no value in being jealous of his star status and/or bemoaning the fact that his book will be taking up space that would otherwise be occupied by a "real author." I would explain why this is so, except that the wonderful Adrienne Kress (Timothy and the Dragon's Gate) has already done so. So, if you need some cheering up/calming down about this type of thing, I direct you here post haste. Read Adrienne's take; like most things she writes, it'll do your soul some good.
Meanwhile, I'll be hoping that "I Am Number Four" proves to be a great read.
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