Shoreline laps at 'Pomona'

'Benny and Joon' director attached

By PETER GILSTRAP

Shoreline Entertainment has acquired film rights to author Kem Nunn's novel "Pomona Queen." Jeremiah Chechik, director of "The Avengers" and "Benny and Joon," is attached to helm.

Book was brought to Shoreline by Susan Ruskin, who will exec produce with Shoreline CEO Morris Ruskin and Chechik.

Christopher Doyle ("Hero," "Infernal Affairs") will be the cinematographer.

Org has tapped Jeff Glickman and Jesse Ikeman of Sudden Storm Prods. to co-produce and co-finance the film. Shoreline recently completed "Barstool Words" with Sudden Storm.

Tome weaves the tale of Earl Dean, a brokenhearted vacuum-cleaner salesman who knocks on the wrong door, becoming entangled in a stranger's manic quest to avenge his brother's murder. Yarn of vengeance takes place over the course of one night.

Pomona native Nunn has authored five books largely set in his self-styled "surf-noir" genre; a surfer himself, he employs themes of L.A. cultural decay amid the raw beauty of the Southern California coastline. Scribe has penned episodes of HBO's "Deadwood" and new surf-based series "John From Cincinnati."

Shoreline's Ruskin was co-producer of "Glengarry Glen Ross" and exec producer on "The Man From Elysian Fields."

Recent Shoreline deals include those for "The Signal," which sold to Magnolia at Sundance; "Weirdsville," which opened Slamdance and sold to Magnolia; and "Everything's Gone Green," which opened in North American theaters in April.