'Born to Run': McConaughey stars in local's movie

If Chris McDougall hadn't been fired from Philadelphia Magazine, he would never have written, Born to Run, his mega-bestselling book about Mexico's Tarahumara Indians, who are known for running long distances in extreme climates without injury. Former Philly Mag and Daily News editor Larry Platt gave McDougall the boot from the magazine, allowing him the time to explore the Tarahumara phenomena.

Born to Run has sold over 2 million copies in the U.S., and spent 178 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. The book also sparked interest in the barefoot running movement. Those FiveFinger shoes you see everywhere? Blame McDougall.

As I reported in today's column, Matthew McConaughey is officially attached to star in the flick. "World War Z" writer Matthew Michael Carnahan will pen the script.

McDougall told me it took Carnahan a year to write the screenplay. "I'm paying my karmic sins now. I've blown off so many deadlines over the years that I'm reaping what I sowed," McDougall, who now calls Lancaster home, said with a laugh. In fact, blowing a deadline is probably why he got fired from Philly Mag in the first place.

But he's glad he waited for Carnahan. "You know when you read something and think 'I could have written that'? I read this script and though, 'Woah, I could not have written that," McDougall said.

What about McConaughey, though? That's also a pretty good get. McDougall told me he had always heard that McConaughey was a fan of the book, but didn't believe it until Tuesday. McDougall added that McConaughey may not play McDougall. "It's not locked in that he's actually playing me, but he might play another character in the book. He might be playing Caballo Blanco [a/k/a Micah True], the mysterious loner," McDougall said. "That leaves it wide open for Will Smith to play me."