Spielberg wanted to film Catcher In The Rye

Steven Spielberg wanted to direct a film based on the reclusive J D Salinger's novel Catcher In The Rye, but his offer was never even relayed to the author, according to a memoir that lifts the lid off Salinger’s secretive life.

Jaimie Clarke, who formerly worked at the office of Salinger’s agent, Phyllis Westberg, is peddling his book O What Fun We’ll Have! O The Times! Around New York publishing houses, reports the New York Post.

It was Clarke’s job to open all the correspondence sent by Salinger to his agent.

“I learned about his pets’ maladies, that his favourite movie is ’The Lost Weekend,’ that his house caught fire a number of years ago but has since been rebuilt, that he travels under several nom de plumes, but always uses the first name Jerry, since his wife can’t remember the more complicated ruses, and that, contrary to popular opinion, he is not sitting on a wealth of manuscripts to be published after his death,” he writes.

He said DreamWorks studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg once called to make an offer for the rights to Catcher In The Rye, which his partner Spielberg wanted to direct. Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein also made an offer but Salinger, who has never allowed Hollywood to touch any of his works, was not even informed, writes Clarke.