"HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS" SHOOTING NOW

No, this is not a self help guide to annoying your buddies. Most people are good enough at doing that without advice.

Rather it is: How I Lost My Friends. A film of the many and varied real life friendships, contacts, and acquaintances made and wasted, squandered and otherwise gutted by one fairly high flying London journalist, Toby Young.

Even put that way, the concept does not sound like a subject to create a stir, but the book has proved that Young has some hilarious ways to grate on others, particularly influential 'others' (in the New York magazine business, no less, beginning with Vanity Fair), as well as a felicitous turn of phrase to describe his unusual success at failure.

That is what has encouraged the money men to cough up some £14 million - that is a Big Budget - to film the tale right now in the UK and US.

That, and the cast, with Simon (Shaun, Hot Fuzz) Pegg standing in for Young, backed up by Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges, Gillian Anderson and Megan Fox.

If all goes well, the final product will launch in Cannes next year and be available to all and sundry in the autumn of 2008.

Yes, that is a long time to wait if you are currently finding yourself unable to rankle enough people. But you can always turn to the book for advice in the meantime.

Filed July 12, 2007