This image was lost some time after publication.

Buried at the end of today's Variety story on New Line's deal to buy the movie rights to the chick-lit advice manual He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys is a quote that should drive struggling screenwriters to drown themselves in the nearest convenient swimming pool.

"As soon as I heard the title, even before it was published, I knew it could make a strong romantic comedy," said New Line production prexy Toby Emmerich. "The writers made us wait until they came up with a movie pitch, and we bought it right away."

What kind of schmuck wastes his time coming up with an actual "story," when it's clearly much more efficient to blow your load on a catchy title and wait as desperate studio execs line up to towel you off?