With a title like “The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag”, you gotta figure that the story behind it has to be pretty groovy, right? Let’s hope so, because with a director like Alex Proyas calling the shots, this is yet another must-see film on my very short list of must-see sci-fi films. Yes, I’m even including the Nicolas Cage movie “Knowing” on that list, even though it looks like it’ll have nothing of the visual flair that I’ve come to associate with Proyas’ works. But anyways, back to “Jonathan Hoag”. So what’s the movie about?

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

Originally published in 1942, the offbeat tale centers on a man who becomes increasingly disturbed when he realizes he cannot account for his activities during the day, or even what he does for a living. He divulges his problem to the husband-and-wife partners of a private detective agency, and their investigation leads to a series of revelations they could never have fathomed.

“I read this story as a kid, and it really stayed with me,” Proyas said. “It’s part of my creative DNA.”

The novella is written by sci-fi giant Robert Heinlein (”Starship Troopers”), and Proyas will direct for Phoenix Pictures with a budget of around $40 million-$50 million. They’re looking at a 2010 start date for the picture, which is, to put it mildly, pretty freaky — that is, if you can even explain it at all.