You know what Dune, Starship Troopers, and Harry Potter have in common? They were all books that became games before they were movies. It happens more often than we realize, and it happens almost exclusively to sci-fi and fantasy. That’s why Neil Strauss’ undercover pick-up artist memoir “The Game” just might be the first of it’s kind. Not long ago, fearless board game designer Adam Kornblum presented the best-selling author with a prototype for a party game based off of his book, the end result being “Who’s Got Game.” As something originally designed as a tool to meet other people, the game tied perfectly into the book’s original themes. And while it’s not unusual for a self-help book to transfer over into the board game genre, what’s odd is that since this book is also soon to become a film starring James Franco – it just might be the first self-help book to become a game before a film.

It turns out that Due Date might be a test run for heading out into the wilderness with the threat of death (and an annoying asshole with a lap dog) around every corner. It will be great preparation for Robert Downey Jr who’ll be producing an adaptation of the book “Emergency! This Book Will Save Your Life,” and might end up taking the lead role. The book is the work of Neil Strauss (the same guy behind pick-up artist tome “The Game”), and it tells the story of a man who faces the same world we face today and decides the only real response to all the economic disaster, terrorism, and cultural upheaval is to become completely self-sufficient. It’s written in the same style as “The Game,” where Strauss does long-term investigative journalism in order to get himself ready for the worst. Based solely on the paranoia needed and the antics that might ensue, it sounds like a decent role for Downey Jr. Hopefully, Zach Galifianakis can cameo as a bearded lunatic.