My friend author Paul Levine’s brand new website is up, just in time for the launch of his acclaimed new novel SOLOMAN VS LORD. It’s a slick site…go take a peek right now. Among the many funny and interesting things on the site is this anecdote about his first Hollywood experience with a movie based on one of his books:
Here’s an actual telephone conversation between the naive novelist in Miami and
the savvy screenwriter in Hollywood:
NOVELIST
You didn’t use any of my notes.SCREENWRITER
And you don’t understand the process.NOVELIST
There’s a
process?SCREENWRITER
See, you owned a car. You sold us the car.
Now, you want to drive the car. But I’m gonna drive it. You can wave as it goes
by. That’s the process.
Cool! Paul Levine is near and dear to my heart! Honest to God, years back when I started reviewing crime fiction, the VERY FIRST novel I reviewed for The Armchair Detective was “Fool Me Twice” by Paul Levine. It was great and I thought, “Hell, this is a license to steal,” mistakenly thinking all books I reviewed would be that much fun–so much fun that I promptly went out and read all his novels, and even wrote a feature story for TAD called “A Miami Way of Death,” about Paul’s books, which, in a way, paved the way for a career as a writer. Gotta get this book.
Best,
Mark Terry
“See, you owned a car. You sold us the car. Now, you want to drive the car. But I’m gonna drive it. You can wave as it goes by. That’s the process.”
That is too funny! And sadly true.
But hey, send me the check. As long as the director doesn’t have a one-word name or was never involved in anyway with SHOWGIRLS, I’m happy.
“See, you owned a car. You sold us the car. Now, you want to drive the car. But I’m gonna drive it. You can wave as it goes by. That’s the process.”
– So you ignored that note about the brakes pulling a bit to the left then? Okay. Watch out for the oncoming traffic.
The wheels pull to the direction of money. Driven by those who know how to make films, but of course everyone on the outside thinks they can do it better.
Yeah but… when the screenwriter drives your car into a tree and the damage is extensive, nobody else wants to drive it.
Movies are a one-shot deal. If they hit a tree it won’t matter to you. Cash the check.
Oh, man. Think again. It matters enormously. If your book gets made into a film your sales increase dramatically even if the film sucks.
So the downside is? I think you’ve solved your own personal conundrum.
I have no idea what you’re talking about. But that happens to me a lot.