Purdue/Jason Smith story rights for sale

This site received a ton of publicity in December 2003 in what turned out to be a hoax (even though this was not the plan). A fictional article (http://www.hoosiergazette.com/Sports/sports003.htm) I wrote for the Hoosier Gazette about Purdue signing the wrong Jason Smith to a basketball scholarship was posted on www.fark.com Dec. 16 of that year. Many people around the world thought this article was real, despite it saying on our website that we are an inaccurate news source. Jim Rome of ESPN found this article and went off about it on his radio show as if it was real. An editor for the San Diego Union-Tribune found the article and put it in that newspaper Dec. 18 without giving us credit. Here are a few links mentioning the hoax (as well as others we pulled off):

http://www.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=248163

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/op-ed/lubrano/20031222-9999_mz1e22lubran.html

http://wfyi.org/wvx/ai_1511.wvx

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050224/NEWS02/502240406/1025

www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/1531/

http://www.fortwaynereader.com/story.php?uid=445

http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=ROADHOAX-11-22-04

Over the past couple of years I have been contacted now and then by writers in Hollywood interested in possibly buying the rights to the story but received no serious interest until today when I received both good and bad news. The good news is a production company made me an offer for the story rights; the bad news is the sum they are offering is quite a bit lower than I expected--after paying an agent and taxes the initial sum for the option rights wouldn't even cover my costs to play semi-pro football this summer.

Now, I am not a greedy person, but know this story would make one helluva movie (well, at least better than Snakes on a Plane) in the right hands and is worth more than I have been offered. If anyone out there is interested in the rights, make me an offer and maybe we can work something out.

Josh Whicker
HoosierGazette.com
e-mail: editor@hoosiergazette.com