Big news if you’re a fan of Fight Club or if you’re the one other American besides me who still reads books. Fight Club was based on a book by author Chuck Palahniuk, and according to ChuckPalahniuk.net Hollywood is in the midst of turning another one of his novels into a feature film.

The book in question is Choke, the story of a con man named Victor who rips people off to pay for his mother’s nursing home care. The book is told through flashbacks, in which as a child Victor is repeatedly kidnapped from his foster parents by his real mother. It’s from Victor’s con game that the movie gets its name. His scam is to go into restaurants and then force himself to choke on his food midway through his meal. When someone comes over to save his life, he keeps a record of their name and address. Having now weeded out the good Samaritans from the cynics, he then sends them letters about fictitious financial troubles and invariably they feel sorry for him and send him money.

It’s being directed by actor Clark Gregg. He’s had bit roles in a lot of bad movies, including most recently In the Land of Women. But he also wrote What Lies Beneath, so he’s not a total stranger to being behind the camera. The really cool news here is that Sam Rockwell is supposed to be set to star as Victor. You know Sam Rockwell, he’s that froody guy Zaphod Beeblebrox in Hitchhiker’s. He’s a natural born con man, in fact he played one opposite Nic Cage in Matchstick Men. Quirky Rockwell will fit perfectly into Palahniuk’s off kilter world. Glenn Close, Annette Benning, and Julianne Moore are rumored to be in the running for the role of Victor’s mother.