#1 New York Times Bestselling Author & TV Producer
I am sitting in the Swiss Air business class lounge at JFK, awaiting my flight to Germany. On the LA to NY flight, I sat across from Norman Lear. I managed not to stare or chat him up. What could I have said that he hasn’t heard a thousand times before? Still, it was cool to see that he picks his nose just like the rest of us.
More later…
Variety reports that DreamWorks Pictures is developing a feature film version of my friend Thomas Perry’s novel NIGHT LIFE, which will be written by Ehren Kruger (THE RING) and produced by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (ALIAS, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3). The book is about a female serial killer who changes her identity after every murder and is pursued by a female detective.
In other book-to-film news, Ed Conlon’s book BLUE BLOOD is the basis for a new Fox TV pilot, to be written by Neil Tolkin and directed by Brett Ratner. The proposed series will be about a Harvard grad who becomes a rookie NYPD police officer.
TV Critic Chuck Barney reports that the flop WB sitcom pilot NOBODY’S WATCHING, which got a lot of hype and thousand of hits when it was "mysteriously" posted on YouTube, has received an order for six scripts from NBC. The network will produce some original "webisodes" while they ponder whether or not to order the series. You can expect to see a lot more busted pilots "mysteriously" showing up on YouTube now…
My latest Natalie Blog is up at the USA Network site. She talks about The Cement Ship in Aptos, California. The painting she refers to in the blog hangs in my Mom’s living room. (I also talked about The Cement Ship in DIAGNOSIS MURDER: THE DEAD LETTER).
I’m pleased to announce that my novel MR. MONK GOES TO HAWAII was the
#8 bestselling mass market paperback at Barnes & Noble stores
nationwide for the week of July 9-July 15.
1. Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
2. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
3. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
4. DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
5. Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
6. A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison
7. Pirate by Ted Bell
8. Mr Monk Goes to Hawaii by Lee Goldberg
9. 4th of July by James Patterson
10. The Bormann Testament by Jack HigginsWHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN
The
Barnes & Noble Store Bestsllers are based on nationwide sales at
Barnes & Noble stores. They are updated weekly, based on the
previous week’s sales.
Daniel Craig’s debut as James Bond in CASINO ROYALE is still several months away, but Nikki Finke reports that Sony has already announced that his license to kill has been renewed. He’ll be back as Bond in an untitled movie to be released in May 2008.
Sorry I’ve been scarce around here lately… and it’s only going to get worse.
I’ve been busy rushing to finish my 8th (and probably last) DIAGNOSIS MURDER novel which is entitled THE LAST WORD and is due August 1. I’ve also been teaching a TV writing class two nights a week at UCLA (and having a blast doing it) and an on-line class at Writers University (with Bill Rabkin).
And on Monday, I’m heading off to Germany, where I will be teaming up for a week with Bill Finkelstein (LAW & ORDER, L.A. LAW) to teach established TV writer/producers how to develop and run "American style" episodic dramas. I don’t know how much Internet access I will have… or time to post… while I am in Germany, but I will try to check in here.
I’ve also been writing my Natalie Blogs, giving some thought to my fourth MONK novel and working on a bunch of TV series ideas that Bill Rabkin and I are going to be pitching around town when I get back.
But at least I update my blog more often than my friend Gregg Hurwitz does.
Writer/Director Kevin Smith talks in this YouTube clip from a speech at Clark University about his experience writing the aborted SUPERMAN REBORN. It’s very funny…and scary, too.
Chicago Tribune critic Dick Adler has started a blog to cover all the
paperback mysteries that he isn’t able to squeeze into his regular
column. Here’s his review of MR. MONK GOES TO HAWAII…
A surprising number of my friends and relatives love the Monk
TV series so much that they ask me to get them signed copies of Lee
Goldberg’s books based on it. Judging by this latest outing, where the
weird cop follows his assistant, Natalie, on holiday, they’re on to a
good thing. Goldberg makes Adrian Monk much more interesting than the
TV version: the twitches are less obvious, the outcomes much less
predictable. Even (or especially) the secondary characters are more
interesting and have sharper dialogue.
Thanks, Dick!
Today the always hilarious Ken Levine takes a look at Celebrity websites and blogs. Among his observations:
Melanie Griffiths’s website is just plain creepy. It chronicles her
romance and rehab, accompanied by music that Norma Desmond would find
too over-the-top. She also writes letters to her inner self. Many not
delivered because no one’s home.Latest entry in Gwen Stefani’s journal: “We’re back. Sorry it has been
so long. We’ll start updating the site more often.” It’s dated May 2.