Veteran comedy actor Jim Carrey has set his sights on a new career as a novelist. The star of many 90's and early 2000's comedies has written a semi-autobiographical novel titled Memoirs and Misinformation, co-written with Mergers and Acquisitions author Dana Vachon. In an interview with Indiewire, Carrey explained why writing a full-on autobiography would have been a boring choice for him:

"There's nothing, at this point in my artistic life, more boring than the idea of writing down the actual events of my life in some chronological order. Trying to expand my brand. This is not that. ... Jim Carrey in this book is really a representative - he's an avatar of anybody in my position. Of the artist, of the celebrity, of the star. That world and all its excesses and gluttony and self-focus and vanity. Some of it is very actual. You just won't know which is which. But even the fictional qualities of the book reveal a truth."

In the novel's mixed world of reality and fiction, the central character of Jim Carrey is a jaded movie star whose wealth and privilege are steadily cutting him off from the real world. After a string of jobs taken purely for the paycheck, Carrey finally gets a chance at a meaty role, the realization of which takes the character on a whirlwind journey across Hollywood.

In that journey, Carrey meets a string of characters that are fictionalized versions of actual stars, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicolas Cage, and Anthony Hopkins. Carrey personally sent all the actors letters of explanation as to their appearance in his novel, and they responded positively, particularly Cage.

"It's satire and parody but also done with reverence. Most of the people in this book are people whom I admire greatly. I was talking to Nic Cage a couple days ago. I hadn't told him anything about the book and then one day I sprung it on him, and he just said, 'Jim, I'm so honored, man. You have no idea'. I said, 'I gave you all the best lines'. 'It's unheard of!' He's so excited about it."

However, there is one actor who might have a bone to pick with Carrey over his inclusion in the novel. A pastiche of Tom Cruise appears in the narrative referred to as "Laser Jack Lighting" for legal purposes. While Carrey says the parody is all in good fun, he's not sure Cruise will end up loving it:

"That's just us poking fun at the litigiousness of Hollywood. I know Tom Cruise. He may sock me, but hey, I'll take the beating for a piece of art. I think he's going to love it."

While the world will have to wait to find out Cruise's reaction to the character of 'Laser Jack Lighting', Memoirs and Misinformation is slated for release on July 7. An audiobook version of the novel features the voice of Carrey's "Dumb and Dumber" co-star Jeff Daniels. This news comes from Indiewire.