Frey, under his pen name of Atticus Finch, wrote the I am Number Four series of young adult novels and the movie of the same name. That movie wasn't bad, but did not do good enough to warrant its sequel.
He's a known charlatan, as well, evidenced by his apology on Oprah.
This wouldn't normally bother me too much, as a decent story is a decent story. What bothers me most about this film is that the director can't even turn a good story into a good movie. I get that she was dealing with something everyone knows isn't true, but instead of using the fiction license to create a compelling film, she -takes a blase approach to even re-filming poorly acted scenes. You know a movies' bad when even Billy Bob can't save it.
Don't waste your time - I only gave it a 5 out of respect for Thornton.