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He's the former comedian's new co-author!
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Oct 07, 2019
Recently, comedian-turned-Trump enemy No. 1 Jim Carrey announced that he's delving nto the book business. Carrey's forthcoming book, called "Memoirs and Misinformation," is reported to be a fictionalized version of Carrey's own tumultuous life. But who is Dana Vachon, his co-author, and what sort of expertise is he bringing to the table?
From the day he first graced our screens on the groundbreaking comedy sketch show, In Living Color, Canadian comedian Jim Carrey has captivated audiences across generations. Known for his slapstick style of comedy, Carrey went on to achieve film success in such films as the Ace Ventura series, The Mask, and the cult classic The Cable Guy.
But Carrey's success is not without its pitfalls: he admitted in an interview with Absolute Motivation that he suffers from severe depression, and often finds himself taking Prozac to regulate the symptoms of it. In addition, he's developed a reclusive public persona, preferring to spend time with his own thoughts and his artwork (which, as of late, has taken aim against Donald Trump) rather than hob-nobbing with the Hollywood elite.
Nevertheless, Jim Carrey remains one of the funniest comedians out there today, and his devoted fanbase certainly can't wait for his upcoming novel, which he will co-write with Dana Vachon.
Let's look at what we know about Carrey's colleague.
1. He used to be in finance.
According to The New York Post, Dana Vachon's first claim to fame was being a "top guy" at Wall Street. He was an analyst at JPMorgan and in the early 2000s became a "literary darling" when he penned a scathing roman a clef called "Mergers and Acquisitions," which all but excoriated the financial glitterati. (One can see why Jim Carrey, with his "eat the rich" philosophy, would gravitate towards a guy like that.)
2. Dana Vachon doesn't like Donald Trump, either.
In 2017, Dana Vachon penned a column for Slate in which he called out "Donald Trump's Wall Street Enablers." "Sitting with them was Ivanka, unelected, uncredentialed, her very presence an affront to democracy, her hair all honeyed-chestnut—almost as pretty as the mane of Caligula’s horse. But why object? They were getting what they wanted: another round of looting, fuel for the lives of glittery impunity which a hyperconsumerism holds as the ultimate good, even history’s grandest aim. There seems little hope for change; we’re having trouble just getting the new Goldman Sachs Treasury Secretary to disclose his offshore holdings," he wrote, in part, for the outlet, while slamming his former co-workers for helping Trump circumvent American democracy.
3. There will be romantic elements in the novel.
Vulture printed a press release from Jim Carrey and Dana Vachon's publisher — and they promise the book will be nothing like what you might expect. "The authors have fashioned a narrative about acting, Hollywood, agents, celebrity, privilege, friendship, loneliness, romance, addiction to relevance, fear of personal erasure, growing up in Canada, and a cataclysmic ending of the world — apocalypses within and without,” reads the press release, in part, with Carrey himself promising that "none of it is real, and all of it is true."
Alrighty then.
4. Is this Dana Vachon's follow-up book?
According to The New York Post, Dana Vachon's first book, "Mergers & Acquisitions," was optioned into a movie, but the film never materialized. While the outlet wondered if, in fact, this new book with Jim Carrey would be considered his promised "follow-up" novel to "Mergers & Acquisitions," Penguin House subsequently confirmed it was considered the follow-up when it listed "Memoirs & Misinformation" on his author profile.
5. It's scheduled to be released in May.
According to The A/V Club, "Memoirs & Misinformation" is set to be released on May 5, 2020. That, of course, is subject to change, but that's the projected release date as of this writing.
6. Jim Carrey isn't the only actor to turn to fiction writing as of late.
It's actually become quite commonplace for actors and other personalities to become authors of different types. We know, for example, that Jonathan and Drew Scott have become authors of two children's books — Builder Brothers and Better Together. Tom Hanks, too, has become an author and even loaned his voice (as Woody, of course) to some Toy Story audiobooks. And certainly we know that several other reality stars have become novelists, and even Madonna has written a children's book! And Carrey certainly isn't the first celebrity to join the memoir club.
So Jim Carrey is following in some fine footsteps with his "Memoirs & Misinformation" book.
And frankly, we can't wait to read it!
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.