As has been said above, all that's happened is the rights have been sold. Actually, if I remember correctly, it was "optioned" which means Neil didn't release the rights, he just gave someone permission to work with his stuff. But based on some college screenwriting courses I took, and general hollywood know-how, only a tiny fraction of optioned movies ever see print. We may get a movie out of this, we may not...
Either way, it'll be interesting
Actually, when I heard that the book had been optioned, my first thought was that they did it to keep the title from being confused or mixed up with the Ghost Rider comic book (also being scripted for an upcoming movie).
As for casting... we had a big thread on this on THML and Tom Hanks was suggested for Neil (voice dubbed), Dean Haglund for Geddy, and Jeff Bridges for Alex.
If you've ever seen the conspiracy theory guys on the X-Files or caught the short-lived The Lone Gunmen, you'll know who Dean Haglund is. But here's the creepy part - he's Canadian and shares a birthday with Geddy!
