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Los Angeles writer Andy Behrman's book Electroboy, just issued in paperback, tells his personal story -- and based on the summary I get why Hollywood is calling. Tobey Maguire wants to produce and may play Behrman. From the author's website:
Andy Behrman was Superman. He slept only three hours a night. Sometimes he didn't go to bed for days. He was a public relations agent, an art dealer, a hustler and a forger who made millions. He would fly from Zurich to the Bahamas then back again to balance out the hot and cold. He learned new languages in a week. He spent his money on wild shopping sprees all around the globe, buying up clothing, paintings and extravagant gifts for friends. He gave complete strangers spontaneous gifts of thousands of dollars from the cash he kept in his freezer. He was moving at breakneck speed - - fueling his behavior with drugs and alcohol.
After seeing more than eight doctors, he was finally diagnosed with manic depression. Then he was arrested for art forgery and was convicted of fraud. He was sent off to prison. When he was released, he returned home, forced to live in his apartment under house arrest. After two unsuccessful years of experimenting with all different combinations of medication to stabilize his wild mood swings, he opted for intensive bouts of electroshock therapy as a last resort. He was temporarily cured. No longer Superman, he was now Electroboy.
This is his story. It's all true.
Electroboy the website includes an "are you manic?" quiz.