Jim Carrey thinks Tom Cruise may 'sock' him over his new book

Actor Jim Carrey is set to publish his new semi-autobiographical book Memoirs and Misinformation in July, and the Ace Ventura star thinks Tom Cruise may want to punch him after he’s read it.

Memoirs and Misinformation, co-written with Mergers and Acquisitions author Dana Vachon, is a Hollywood-set satire about an actor called Jim Carrey whose fictional career closely mirrors that of the rubber-faced Canadian comic. "None of this is real and all of it is true," Carrey describes it on Amazon.

Talking to The New York Times, Carrey explained: “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.”

Although the name of Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise doesn’t appear in the book for legal reasons, he’s represented by a fictional character who goes by the name of Laser Jack Lightning.

“That’s just us poking fun at the litigiousness of Hollywood,” Carrey adds. “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.”

Carrey attended the 2006 wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in Italy, with his then-partner Jenny McCarthy.

According to the NY Times, Memoirs and Misinformation finds the fictional Carrey “in the midst of an existential crisis” addicted to Netflix, YouTube and TMZ, and “fixated on his own inevitable demise and the eventual end of the universe”.

Read more: Mission: Impossible 7 to resume shooting in September

The synopsis on Amazon further adds: “Memoirs and Misinformation is a fearless semi-autobiographical novel, a deconstruction of persona.

“In it, Jim Carrey and Dana Vachon have fashioned a story about acting, Hollywood, agents, celebrity, privilege, friendship, romance, addiction to relevance, fear of personal erasure, our ‘one big soul’, Canada, and a cataclysmic ending of the world – apocalypses within and without.”

The faux-Carrey’s best friend in the book is Nicolas Cage, who Carrey says was thrilled to learn about his role in the novel.

“I hadn’t told him anything about the book and then one day I sprung it on him, and he just said, [Nicolas Cage voice] ‘Jim, I’m so honoured, man. You have no idea’ I said, I gave you all the best lines. [Cage voice] ‘It’s unheard of!’ He’s so excited about it.”

Memoirs and Misinformation is available to pre-order now for release on 7 July.