With this in mind, Perelman began to option the film rights to literary works. He discovered "House of Sand and Fog" by Andre Dubus III before it was an acclaimed bestseller and an Oprah selection. "I closed that book after I finished it, and through the tears managed to call my agent to check into the rights." Perelman got Shawn Otto to adapt the novel for the screen, and went on to attach Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly to the project, raised financing, and parked himself at the helm of his first feature film. DreamWorks acquired domestic distribution rights and released the film to great critical acclaim.