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Venokur sells Gumpalump to Henson

Courtesy of Yahoo News
January 10, 2001

In what could be a prologue to a job scripting a Muppet film down the road, children's book author Ross Venokur has sold a pitch to Jim Henson Pictures.

The project is tentatively called "Grumpalump.'' It tells of an unhappy boy who gives birth to a vile monster in an effort to exact revenge on the world. The monster grows ever bigger and nastier, however, and the story concludes with a dramatic showdown at a giant produce festival.

Venokur, whose credits include such books as ''The Autobiography of Meatball Finkelstein'' and "The Amazing Frecktacle,'' and who boasts a Cat-In-the-Hat tattoo on one arm, has various Hollywood deals in the hopper, including a TV pilot deal with Jersey Films. But he hasn't previously sold a pitch that wasn't already a book. Once Venokur develops "Grumpalump'' as a feature, he may shop it to publishers.