Fox learns 'How to Talk to Girls'

Studio nabs rights to 9-year-old's advice guide

By MICHAEL FLEMING, DAVE MCNARY, DAVE MCNARY, DAVE MCNARY

Twentieth Century Fox has optioned rights to "How to Talk to Girls," a newly published advice guide written by Alec Greven, a 9-year-old expert on the subject.

The first of a four-book series, "How to Talk to Girls" was published Nov. 25 by HarperCollins, the publishing house that is a sister company to Fox. The film deal encompasses all four volumes.

The studio hasn't set a writer yet or assigned a producer, but 20th production co-president Alex Young sparked to the story of Greven, who was 8 when he began writing the book as an assignment for his third-grade class, to help classmates break the ice with members of the opposite sex. The result was a pamphlet that sold at his school's book fair for $3.

HarperCollins is selling the first of the four editions for $9.99.

The advice seems simple enough to follow: Greven's tips range from the facts of life ("Sometimes, you get a girl to like you, then she ditches you. Life is hard, move on!"), to getting a girl's attention ("Show off a skill, like playing soccer or anything else that you are good at.") to talking to girls ("You also have to be aware that girls win most of the arguments.") to dealing with crushes ("It can be very hard to get a girl to like you. Sometimes it takes years! Whatever happens, just don't act desperate.").

Fox bought the book preemptively, before Greven began logging airtime on TV shows including "The Today Show" and "Ellen."

The Gotham Group brokered the deal.