Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D.

GINI GRAHAM SCOTT, Ph.D., J.D., has taught at California State University, East Bay, Notre Dame de Namur University, and the Investigative Career Program in San Francisco. She writes nonfiction, scripts and has published over 50 books. Her latest books on business relationships and professional development include: WANT IT, SEE IT, GET IT; DISAGREEMENTS, DISPUTES AND ALL OUT WAR; 30 DAYS TO A MORE POWERFUL MEMORY; A SURVIVAL GUIDE TO MANAGING EMPLOYEES FROM HELL; A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR WORKING WITH BAD BOSSES; and A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR WORKING WITH HUMANS (all from AMACOM 2004-2009), AMERICAN MURDER (Greenwood 2007), others such as HOMICIDE BY THE RICH AND FAMOUS (Berkley 2006, Greenwood 2005); HOMICIDE: 100 YEARS OF MURDER IN AMERICA (Contemporary 1998), YOU THE JURY (Seven Locks 1997), CAN WE TALK? THE POWER AND INFLUENCE OF TALK SHOWS (Plenum 1996), MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS: THE BATTLE FOR PERSONAL PRIVACY (Plenum 1995), THE TRUTH ABOUT LYING (Smart Books 1994), POWER OF FANTASY (Citadel 1994), and PRIVATE EYES (Paladin 1994, with Sam Brown).

She has received national media exposure for her books, has hosted a weekly radio talk show series, CHANGEMAKERS, featuring interviews on various topics, which aired from 1991 to 1993 to 2 million listeners in over 70 countries. Scott has written over 100 songs, featured at http://www.songworks.net/ , and has cuts on several records. She has won awards for her photography, featured at www.artsandphotos.com. She has designed several lines of dolls and character licenses and writes children's books....and this isn't all, check out her websites (she has many more accomplishments!!)

Let me start by stating when I ‘googled’ you, there were 36,000 results! I also discovered you have 4-5 separate websites on very diverse topics such as music-as you’ve written over one hundred songs, books-on almost every topic one could write on, AND you have a few consultant companies and not to mention you’ve taught at several universities all over the U.S! And…every book you’ve written has its own site! It must be REALLY good to be Gini Graham Scott.

Oh, thank you.

And….you’ve been on several talk shows like Montel Williams and Oprah…. And what other shows were you on?

I was also a guest on CNN, Good Morning America…The O’Reily Factor …to talk about topics I’m an expert on….

Which seems to be EVERYTHING...

…I could get calls on the topic of crime for example because I’m considered an expert…. I’ve written many books on crimes ….

Right now as you know I’m writing a blog. Most people blog for many reasons…one of the reasons I blog is because I’m a scatter brain and I just don’t want to lose what I’m writing. However, the overall goal for my blog is to write a book…do you think this is a good way to do that?

I think most definitely. I also started using a blog…I have this book called Playing the Lying Game and the original book, was from a blog…

Really? Christian Lander did that…wrote a blog as kind of like a joke and it became a huge success...the book is Stuff White People Like. That’s good to know it’s also worked for you. So what’s that book mostly about…about lying?

Well there are different categories of liars and….there’s this continuum. I had a lie quiz at the end of the blog and many people wanted to know about it so a lot of the information is the same in the book. And after the book came out, I started posting articles and posting them on EZINE an articles.com site where there are about 250,000 articles in return for links to their websites…

That’s a smart way to promote what you write!

And I also have a service that sends out quires and press releases so I have a data base and from time to time I will send out postings…it’s a PR and networking connection…

So, if someone wanted to consult with you…

Well, there’s a fee. I subscribe to a number of queries…I’ve used it for myself and the business which connects writers to publishers…then there are other categories like film festivals…I also tie into what I’m currently doing...

Which is?

The next thing is how to write and produce your own short film. It’s useful to people doing these short films…for someone who just wants to just take a camera out with them… that’s fine. But for someone who is really serious, this book is informative for them.

Wow, so it seems to me that whatever you’re doing in your life…becomes a book?

Yes! Thankfully whatever I do, I write about (it).

You’re a great promoter for all these projects. What’s a good tool one can use to self promote?

One is Linked-In to promote your business or yourself….

My boss uses that and it certainly has helped her obtain clients. I have to get an account now. What about for book promotions?

You know the book business have changed so much and it’s very much celebrity driven…

It really is!

The mainstream publishers have had these blockbusters, celebrity- books AND people are reading less or in different ways…so now there are e-books and packaging blogs into e-books…

Hmmm, I guess it’s true the ‘old way’ is no longer the most effective, it seems.

It’s something like 500,000 books getting published each year and 350,000 of them are self- published.

So you think that’s the way for writers to go then?

It certainly is one way, yes, that’s something I’m doing now for clients…

Can you give me an example of how that’s worked for one of them?

Well, for example I have a self-published client who’s published and has had great success. She’s managed to sell thousands of copies and that’s a lot even for books that have been published by reputable book companies!

That is! How long did that take for her to do?

Only about six months.

Wow! What are some difficulties people face when looking for a book company to publish their work?

Well, what publishers want these days is someone who already has a platform. Like I said before, books are more celebrity driven and if you aren’t famous or well-known they may not represent you and if they do, the advance for a book these days compared to in the past is about half. If a self published book becomes successful and I help my clients make this happen…then they can build a platform…

And then they can get bigger advances from those reputable book companies like Random House!

Exactly…things are vastly changing for ALL writers including those who have been represented and published by major book companies many times like myself. I’m doing other things to promote my work myself now.

Like what specifically?

Well one very basic and simple way to self promote your work is through FaceBook.

I’m doing that for this blog too. And I've seen musicians do this...and comics. One comic posted a link on my wall to promote himself. His name is Luke Francis actually and now I’m buying his DVD...he's very funny! So, that promotion strategy can work.

Yeah…I’ve been building up my face book account and I think at some point I’ll write a book about this process also…

Big surprise there (laughing).

Well, it’s whatever I’m doing, you know if I know a lot of these things it becomes possible…it’s just very easy to publish books these days….the average book is for people looking for quick reads.

And ‘Quick reads’ would be considered… how long exactly?

Oh, only about…50, 000 words and some publishes will only want to work with those types of books because they sell a lot quicker. I have a few books like this ….they’re substantially shorter…

Wow, I always thought the book writing process was LONG and it took years to publish a single book.

Everything in this business is changing…now I think you must have an ability to market your book where you have an audience for a particular niche like you have someone who’s looking to mortgage and you have some information on that…there’s a book for that purpose. So, for a lot of people with all these formats, you can cut out the’ middle man’ or if it’s not really for the purpose of making money although that’s also nice…you may just want to have more marketability… to get hired for companies….

The e-book and self publishing thing is starting to sound like a good idea to me now.

Print-on-demand is another way and I have a book on network marketing and another one on party planning…which at one point was published by The Idiots Guide for a few years and then I got the rights back.

You can get the rights back for books you’ve published for companies? I never knew that.

Yeah. I have 20 books that were published by major book companies and I got the rights back for them years later and by dividing them up into sections with let’s say 90 pages, it makes it easier so people can still buy the book but there are also ways they can just buy a section so that’s another way to sell it for much less…

That’s smart. I always wondered about that…what happens to books when they stop selling at stores?

I help my clients with all these things and I also tell clients how to pitch film rights for their scripts….there’s just a number of things I do consulting for with my PR firm.

And you have a …PHD in…

Sociology... I just found that there was less interest in that and there was a cut back in this at the time and so I sort of shifted myself and I ended up writing a lot of books about businesses.

So what was your first book then?

Well my first book was my dissertation for my doctorate but it was shortly after this I wrote Working with Humans and then I wrote Working with Bad Bosses as a follow up which I wrote next when I was commissioned by a book company to write it.

Where did you get your research? These must have been fun to write. I can’t think of anyone not having had a ‘bad boss’ it’s just such a common thing…unfortunately.

Yes, at one point I had one…and I’ve interviewed people and I did the same for the book on ethic s and lying…they’re based on interviewing… and some of these recent books are from PR and discovering what other people do.

What about that funny photo book I used to always see in Barnes and Noble…the dog one? That was a HUGE book, it was everywhere at one point….who published it?

Random House published that…it was Do You Look like your Dog …

It was brilliant…what made you think of it?

I was just testing a data base and put up some pictures and little comments and I was contacted to make an entire book out of it so you just never know what people are finding interesting.

Is it still out there?

No, not in stores no...but you can still buy it of course. After a couple of years I got the rights back from Random House for that one also.

How can this happen? I should have asked you that before.

Oh, that's okay (laughing)...when the book goes off the market….after sales go below a certain number or point, you write a letter stating that you want the rights back and sometimes they’ll tell you to purchase the unsold books for a fee…..it’s not a big deal with most publishers.

Was that book your most money making book?

No, Want it ,See It, Get it...which uses manifesting techniques was more popular and sold more…and Playing the Lying Game was very big also a lot of people took an interest to it.

Wow, and how do you come up these ideas…how did you obtain the knowledge for the manifestation books which I mean are HUGE now, The Secret for example sold millions of copies.

It’s like The Secret in a way but…I think my book is more of a methodology that can be applied to any technique.

What kind of technique?

Well, I would consider it a compliment to this book…it’s how you can apply it… mine is more you want to express your gratitude; here are some ways you can do this...

So, what’ll your next book be about?

I think the Linked-in book that’s getting finalized as we speak, is going to be very popular….it’s a comprehensive guide and gets more involved with all the different capacities of this network strategy.

Oh, I see. So what else can you tell me about yourself?

Well, if anyone has a book, film, song or idea they’d like to promote, they can reach me at http://www.ginigrahamscott.com/ or changemakers@pacbell.net or http://www.publishersandagents.net/ or info@changemakerspublishandwriting.com or http://www.e-bookpublishing.com/ or http://www.changemakersproductions.com/ some of these are my own sites and others I sold but I still do consulting with them.

I was going to just ask you about that! That's a lot for one person...well, thank you so much Gini for sharing all your pearls of wisdom…I want to be like you when I grow up and publish fifty books and be a guest on Oprah and Montel Williams and Bill O’Reily …even though he can be mean…

And you can….and you will! (laughing).

Hope so! Think I’ll need to read Want it, See it, Get it to learn tips from you first...

It’ll help you manifest anything you want and bring it to life!

That's so awesome….I’m so excited…thanks again.

You are VERY welcome Phil!

Mary Ann Johanson, TV and Film Critique

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MaryAnn Johanson is a New York City-based writer whose writings on film, TV, DVD, and pop culture appear in a variety of US alternative weekly newspapers including Salt Lake City Weekly and Charleston City Paper, and in the UK’s Blockbuster Preview. Online, she contributes to Film.com and FlickFilosopher.com. She is the author of The Totally Geeky Guide to The Princess Bride, and is an award-winning screenwriter. Today she spoke with me about her job, writing, blogging, what it’s like to meet so many celebrities among other things.


What made you decide to do this…how did it all begin?

I went to film school in the late 80s because I wanted to direct. However I soon realized it wasn’t for me and I dropped out of film school. But I was writing more and more. So, basically the bell went off and I thought if I’m making movies how will I be a writer? So that’s how I began writing. Then in 1997 when the web became big I began a web site and then it started to get really big…

It is really big! And I must say you are very insightful not just with your reviews but also with your predictions.

Oh, thank you…

I was shocked and impressed by your accurate predictions for the 2009 Oscars. I saw you on that show, Grit TV with Laura Flanders...you predicted Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side AND you also predicted Kathryn Bigelow as best director for Hurt Locker and they both won!

I certainly wasn’t alone in making those predictions and I don’t think anyone was hugely surprised by those wins…

No?

…the academy is very sentimental in a lot of ways and Sandra Bullock’s win totally fit into that sentimental side. They’re not going to have another chance to honor her so they took this chance to do it.

What do you mean she won’t have another chance?

Oh, I could be wrong…she’s reached some sort of pinnacle in her career with this role and there aren’t a lot of roles for older actresses and they tend to go to better actresses but all that said… I would be delighted to be wrong about that. I would love for there to be more opportunities for any actress to have more opportunity. So, what I’m saying is unless something really changes…she’s not going to have another opportunity.

I see what you mean now. And sadly, I think you’re right. The age thing for woman in Hollywood is a major concern and that really upsets me. Anyway, back to your web site…how did it get so big?

At the time (1990s) no one had been doing this. A lot of mainstream press was noticing because there weren’t that many people doing this so I was able to capitalize on that. Lots of people were going on-line for independent movie reviews and my site always came up. It’s interesting to see that not too many people that started around the same time are around today. I mean there are two sites that are still huge Ain’t it Cool News which is run by Harry Knowles from Texas makes millions…

Millions?

Yes. Part of my plan this summer is to try to figure out how to increase the traffic to my website...it’s good but I think it can be better.

I wish you luck. I think it’s great…and it’s lead you to several television appearances…can we talk about that?

Sure. I’m not really a TV person per se but if it brings more exposure then I’ll put up with it. I’ve done radio a lot more than I’ve done television.

Like what?

There’re almost always local…I recently did an appearance on a rural radio show in Canada.

With radio you really don’t have to travel…

Oh no, we did it on the phone. They emailed me in the morning and asked me if I wanted to discuss Conan’s move to another show.

So you don’t just review but you also do commentary…that’s interesting. How does one make money in this?

First from advertising on the website which is based primarily on traffic and sometimes ‘click thru's’ and then also selling reprint rights to Newspapers.

What newspapers?

Salt Lake City Weekly, Folio Weekly…that’s in Jacksonville Fl, Charleston City Paper, Monterrey County Weekly, California…

And what about the web ads?

I use a network…Value Click…they use banner ads and square ads…they’re the ones for major corporations; we’re all in that network…they’re selling ads across a network of websites, not just my websites.

I see. You’re giving me a lot of ideas for my own blog. I love that. Tell me about the celebrities you’ve interviewed?

Well, sometimes it’s been in a round table situation like everyone is discussing something and in walks Meryl Streep or Samuel Jackson or Kiera Knightly or Colin Farrell…um, James Franco, I could go on and on.

Have you published something on all of them?

The reason why you don’t always publish a round table discussion is because you’re not the only writer there and so it’s not unique. Other journalists are getting the same material. But…if it’s one on one then I always publish that. But that’s always rare. However, there was once a situation where I had written something unique that a director had spoke on and for some reason, no other journalist had picked up on it but me.

What do you mean?

It was during a press conference for the film District 9. The star of the film who’s a film maker also who had never acted before…his name is Sharlto Copley http://awfj.org/2009/08/12/awfj-women-on-film-sharlto-copley-on-district-9-maryann-johanson/ …well, somebody asked him, “What does your name mean?” He went into this big explanation on it and then there was also a big discussion on the geeky sci-fi production stuff. I posted all of it on website because I thought my readers would appreciate it and for some unexplainable reason no other journalist published that tid-bit about his name! And then the movie ended up being HUGE and I ended up getting all the credit for the bit about his name and the sci-fi bits and it eventually got linked in People magazine!

With all those journalists there, not one wrote about it…that’s very strange. I feel like if I was there I would try to write about everything that (celebrity) is saying. So, tell me what it was like meeting James Franco, what sort of guy is he?

I went and did a round table for a movie called the Dead Girl with Marcia Gayharden and James Franco among other people and she brought her nieces with her because they wanted to meet James Franco and we met her first. We all sit in multiple rooms and they move the talent around and the nieces were so excited to tell us all about their meeting him and then when we talked to him about it he was totally laid back about it and it was very sweet.

Who else have you personally interviewed one on one?

I got to interview Ron Livingston from Sex and the City http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/2007/11/ron_livingston_on_holly_and_mu.html and most recently Rodrigo Garcia http://awfj.org/2010/05/06/awfj-women-on-film-rodrigo-garcia-on-making-movies-about-women-maryann-johanson-interviews/ he directed Mother and Child…

Yes, I know. I read a lot of great reviews about this film. His father is Gabriel Garcia Marquez…I had to read many of his books in college. How did you get chosen to interview him? This little indie is getting lots of good press!

The publicists connect to me. He’s totally done to earth which is true about most of the people…I mean take someone like Merryll Streep who was just like completely goofy and it just wasn’t what I expected…that’s how he was. If you ask most people about their job this is how they are about it. He was just a pleasure to talk to…he was intelligent…there’s intent behind his films and he’s able to articulate that in an interesting way.

Wow, I would be intrigued to meet him, the son of the great writer…I would be totally spellbound. Oh, and I remember you mentioned meeting Colin Farrell…

He was quiet, thoughtful, and introspective; shy even, totally not what I expected. He has this reputation of being a ‘lad’ as the Brits and Irish say like this bad-boy ‘ladies man’ but this totally didn’t come across when I met him…did not jibe with the shy thoughtful artist he came across as.

Wow, that is surprising! You consider him an artist…what movies of his would be considered artistic?

This round table was for the movie, In Bruges.

Wow, I am really surprised I never heard of this film until now!

The title is a city in Brussels. Brendan Gleeson played the other lead…it was like if Laurel and Hardy were hit-men and they were stuck in this quaint little city. It’s a hilarious movie and he’s such a moron in this movie and he’s not in real life…I really highlight what an excellent actor he is…which I always thought. I also thought he was great in Pride and Glory…he plays an NYC cop in that with a perfect American accent. In Miami Vice he was good also…and um, Cassandra’s Dream which he did with Ewan McGregor. They play brothers in London and one is confident/secure and the other is a mess and they play the opposite of what you’d expect and although it’s not a very good movie…they play very well together.

Oh, and I really love Amanda Segfried, what was she like?

That was a while ago….she was doing the film, Chloe but she’s been in all these movies since then so I think it’s worthwhile to go back and transcribe it all. I mean she was so fresh and spontaneous which is not like what a lot of much more experienced actors are like…

What do you mean?

They have their patter…

Patter?

You know like routine…they get the same questions all of the time.

Did you know about her before meeting her?

I had watched many of her films and I think she has a lot of screen presence...

What other female actresses?

Julianne Moore http://awfj.org/2010/04/03/awfj-women-on-film-julianne-moore-on-atom-egoyan-amanda-seyfried-and-choosing-chloe-maryann-johanson-interviews/ …she is so elegant…that’s the one word that comes to mind. I know I’ve saying a lot about this…I guess we only get the smart ones (laughing).

And you did get a one on one interview with Paul Schneider http://awfj.org/2009/09/17/3832/ ?

He’s on Parks and Recreation. I was interviewing him for an upcoming movie of John Keats...it came out last autumn, Bright Star. I hadn’t seen the show at the time. That interview went well and when an interview like that works whether one on one or round table you make someone laugh or you make them say, “wow I’ve never thought of that before” means you haven’t asked the same questions they get asked by all these other journalists.

Does this happen often?

It can. I made Sam Rockwell laugh once before at an interview session…I likened him to one character he played to another and he hadn’t thought of that before. And Paul and I just talked a lot about his acting and afterwards he joked with me and said, “I don’t think I need to see my therapist today.” I thought he was going to get nominated for that role…then my interviewing would have really taken off!

I think it already has…your content is great.

Another one and one I got to do was with Kirk Jones http://awfj.org/2009/11/29/4128/ he directed a movie last year with Robert Dinero and Drew Barrymore called Everybody’s fine.

Oh, I wanted to see that…thanks for reminding me.

He was great, he was so enthusiast about the move and so was I and this doesn’t always happen. It’s sort of like an on-the-road movie…so we talked about English film making verse American film making and how American landscapes inspire different kinds of films.

So what was the movie about? It seems like it’s like a self odyssey film from the way you describe it.

It’s a movie about family and how family members sometimes lie to keep the peace…

Can you give me an example?

Let’s just say there are four children that live in different places and everyone knows something is going on about the brother and they keep giving him (the father, Robert Deniro) excuses.

I think you did say you met him too!

Yes, never interviewed him though. Robert Deniro is very smart…he’s been in everything and he’s everywhere and it’s always difficult to get him to say even a monosyllable. He just doesn’t like to talk about himself.

Tell me something about your job that is surprising.

My job is not as glamorous as it sounds. First of all you cannot act like a fan. I’ve seen many journalists take pictures and ask for autographs. It is a job…yeah it’s awesome…I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it…you go and see the movie, then spend hours writing about it...

Can a review or something else you create about a movie be sold more than once?

Absolutely, I do that all the time…I’m selling (it) to several local newspapers. I mean I couldn’t sell it to Time Magazine and Newsweek but I could sell to two or more newspapers in different states because then there’s no competition.

I see…

I have written exclusive stuff once in awhile… for example I reviewed The Indian Jones Box Set for Archaeology Magazine and that was exclusive; they paid a lot more than $75.

And they commissioned you for that?

They did yeah.

Wow, that’s very cool. I recently read one of your reviews about Just Wright and it seemed like you were in love with this movie (laughing)?

Really? Did you read it?

Yes, I’m just joking. You couldn’t stand this movie. Was it really that bad?

I went to see it in this tiny little screening room...they are all over the city…you wouldn’t even know it. So it was me and a bunch of other journalists watching Queen Latifia in the middle of the afternoon…

And there’s nothing good you can say about it?

No. Queen Latifia is amazing…she’s fantastic, she just deserves better movies…one good thing is she didn’t have to loss forty pounds to get the guy…that’s a good thing. Too bad the guy is such a drip and the movie was so predictable.

What’s the most rewarding part?

Every once in a while I’ll get a letter from a movie director who will say something nice to me and that’s always nice. But the thing I find most rewarding is the site. A lot of sites suffer from span or junk comments but I’ve tried to foster a community that is intelligent and has something to say to each other even if we don’t always agree.

I have to say…you do get a lot of comments to your site…which isn’t common for any site….

I’ve managed to maintain that even as the site traffic has grown. So I also have this big master file, there’s one link on the front pages which has every review since I began…and the blogging software lets you tag your posts and that creates a kind of index which is very useful.

Let’s talk about your book!

Okay…it is a long deconstruction of the movie A Princess Bride...um…it’s a social cult favorite movie so I wanted to find out what was so appealing about it…how it falls into classical fairy tale structure and how it turns it upside down and plays with it.

So it is a fairytale then, she falls in love?

Yeah, but prince charming is a pirate and there’s an evil prince, a giant, a magician, it’s got everything…true love. It’s one of the first movies that weren’t very big in the theaters but when it got released on VHS and something happened…it became an instant cult.

Who did you interview for it?

I did interview some cast members and a couple of other film critics and one guy who is an expert in fairy tales but mostly it was my opinion…I just made it an e-book.

Is that cheaper?

Yes, the actual book to buy is about ten bucks and the e-book would be about two….but I think it could be easier to sell more that way…

For sure, I understand that…you could sell a few thousand copies if the price is right. I want to buy a copy now.

Let me know what you think.

Well Maryann, I’m glad I could let my readers know about your site so next time they decide whether or not to go and see a film or wait for the DVD they’ll check out your site first. Oh and I have two more questions…

Ask away.

Can I go with you to a round table sometime?

Sorry, it’s only for journalists…otherwise, yes.

Okay and what film have you been commissioned to see tonight?

McGruber…the release of this movie starts tomorrow and they’re only just premiering it tonight… which is never a good thing.

Enjoy!

Learn more about the ever insightful MaryAnn Johanson! She was a nominee: BEST ONLINE CRITIC, 2010 National Entertainment Journalism Award (Los Angeles Press Club) and check out her sites FlickFilosopher.com: http://www.flickfilosopher.com/ and MaryAnnJohanson.com: http://www.maryannjohanson.com/.
She is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences: http://www.iadas.net/
 Alliance of Women Film Journalists: http://www.awfj.org/ and a member, Online Film Critics Society: http://www.ofcs.org/ and here’s two more interviews you might want to read: Neill Blomkamp (DISTRICT 9 director):
http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/2009/08/082609more_from_neill_blomkamp_on_di.html

Shohreh Aghdashloo: http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/2009/06/i_interview_shohreh_aghdashloo.html

Christian Lander: The Best Selling Author of "Stuff White People Like"

Christian Lander began a little blog on WordPress back in 2008 called “Stuff White People Like" It became an instant over night sensation. In less then a year he has been commissioned by Random House to write a book version and since then his book has sold millions around the world. He took a break from giving book talks and dreaming big to discuss his secrets of success. It was an honor and a privilege to meet such a humble writer like himself who has become one of the most famous writer/bloggers in the world!

When did you first begin these entries on WordPress?I began January 18, 2008…I remember it quite vividly, at the time I thought it would be a stupid blog that would just make my friends laugh but looking back, I see it as an important day.

How long did it take after that for agents to contact you?
I started getting approached by several agents in the first three weeks…

That was fast!
…and it took about three months after that before I chose my first agent.

What made you chose him/her?I asked a lot of people. All the agents were reputable but I really liked this agent that I chose.

What’s your advice to writers who want to become published?My advice is not to try…

That’s right…I did read that somewhere actually.…that’s the snarky way to say it…but realistically my main goal was for my three friends. It’s its own reward because I love what I do...there’s an honesty to it that I think people really see.

Are you open about discussing the advance you got for your book or is it a secret?It’s not something I discuss and I continue to follow that rule… Random House has been very good to me.

Has it been translated into other languages?
It’s doing really well in Australia... it’s also been translated into Dutch and Japanese.

I’m so glad it’s getting world-wide recognition. Oh, I also read somewhere that people initially thought you were black?Yes (laughing) and they were disappointed that I wasn’t. Many people thought I was an Ivy-League black guy…people would have thought it was more controversial and it would have been more instigated. It was fun for a while in the beginning. Some people also thought I was Asian.

How many hits did your site get before an agent approached you?It hit the one million mark.

Oh, I didn’t know that! I’m kind of jealous of you. There. I’m admitting it. Do you think that made a difference in getting so many agents?
It makes it easier for them to market…it has proven itself and it’s not as much of a risk.

Are you still adding new material?

It’s slowing down because I’m definitely feeling a bit burned out on it. The book itself has eighty or so entries something like that and on the web another forty…there was a lot of new material for the book that has been kept exclusive to the book.

Do you recall what your very first entry was about?“Coffee” was the first one I wrote and then so many followed after that…when I get a good idea I just need to get it out and I need to write it as fast and as furiously as possible.

Do you have a favorite?
“Knowing What’s Best for Poor People” is my favorite…

Why?
It was the one where I was most viciously attacking how pretentious I am…

In what sense?
When you read it you’ll get what I’m getting at.

I have to reread that one now. What were you working at, at the time you first embarked on this life changing journey?I was a copywriter at an ad agency…

Dreaming of becoming a writer I assume?Yeah, since I realized I wasn’t going to be a rock star or a major league baseball player…I was a failed writer, a journalist and academic…I dropped out of a PH.D program…

That’s so encouraging…you were struggling a bit and then BOOM, this great book gets written…I read this book in an hour by the way, I couldn’t put it down!
There’s a lot of ways to get it as a writer…I got ridiculously lucky…but it’s not like I hadn’t been trying to be a writer my whole life…my job was in writing and I had done some journalism…but this is better though.

Where have you given book talks?Google, Brown University… I’ve done three book tours since it came out so it’s a long list…

I also read somewhere that you don’t own a car, is that some political message?I prefer bicycles…I’ve never had a car in my life.

Is there another book in the works?
No, I’m moving into TV writing next….

Really? What kind of genre?
I’m hoping to write for a comedy TV show next.

That makes sense. Your writing is hysterical.

Thanks.

What was the reaction from your friends? Were they surprised by the instant fame you received?I think people were surprised about how big it was…people who know me weren’t surprised about what it was…they know this is the kind of stuff that I write.

Have you ever gotten any hate mail?
Yeah, people have accused (it) as being racist. It’s misinterpreting…some people really mean well and some people are idiots…there’s no getting around that at all.

I also read that there have been many knock-offs of your original idea…I think that is just wrong!
Yeah, there’s so much… “Stuff Unemployed People Like,” Stuff Midwesterners Like,” “Stuff Gay People Like…”

That must have been upsetting for you after you thought of it and now so many people are using it and making a lot money from it!
No, not at all. Almost all of them have linked back to me. I think they do really good work. I think it’s cool people are doing it….I don’t have any problem whatsoever with it…they’re writing about stereotypes in a non-hateful and funny way….some of them aren’t that funny but they’re trying. The only thing I dislike is when it’s negative, that’s something I wish I could get rid of but you can’t really stop the Internet. But the idea of people taking the idea and going with it is a positive thing…the world is not about bottling up ideas…it’s an art, I think it’s fantastic… they’re just building off my idea, it’s not taking away from my site…

That’s very liberal you. Have you ever been influenced to write a certain entry by a fan?Someone added one earlier on about hardwood floors and I really liked that and wrote about it but most of these ideas I already had…

Is there a certain length you use in your entries?
No. I just wrote as I saw fit….just where the humor flows and how it fits…..

What are your current projects?
I just got back from the Sydney Writers Festival in Australia and the Bumper Shoot Festival in Seattle and they’ll be some college readings coming up in September.

Do you have many “writer friends?”I still have “writer friends” but now I have “successful writer friends” (laughing)....

Now that you’re a celebrity, do you have to wear sunglasses to get ice cream and that sort of thing?
Well, not exactly…but I have been recognized…three times in Australia, twice in the US and once in Toronto…and once in LA but I was mistaken for an actor on “Entourage” before I had the beard.

Now that you can do whatever you want…what are some things you’ve gotten the opportunity to do because of this highly acclaimed book?I got to be on the Conan O’ Brian show and that was a life long dream of mine that I thought would never happen…

What are some qualities you like about him?
He’s been a hero of mine since I was in high school…he’s very funny and sharp and I thought it was just a dream come true that I just wasn’t expecting…

Is there a writer who you are greatly influenced by?
David Sedaris…probably the funniest writer I ever read and everyone who works for the Onion…oh, he just writes these really funny essays.

I will check him out. Oh, I love the Onion! What about music...that a "White" question?Indie rock… Reggaeton,,,um…let’s see, it’s always dated…Apollo Ghosts, Dirty Projectors, Saint Vincent…

I don’t know any of them…they don’t seem dated.Yeah, that’s how I win.

You’ve written about this in your book too, “Music White People Like,” which is…It’s the “white ipod;” the Arcade Fire, the Pixies, The Beatles, A Tribe Called Quest…

And then there’s the other one, “Black Music White People Like?”That would be Blues, Old School Hip Hop, that sort of stuff....

So, if a fan or just a friend said, “Hey Christian, I’m writing (fill in the blank) and I want to be a success!” your advice to them would be?
The happiest you’ll be is if you consider (it) your own reward and you’ll be surprised about what will come of it…

What about life in general…what makes you happy in life?
Um…I don’t know, no idea…

But Christian! I thought you knew everything! (laughing)
I DO know everything! It’s all subjective. Find something you really like to do…it’s all very Eckart Tolle…I’m hoping when I do something it’ll work…BUT if it stops just like that I’m okay with it…I’ll be totally fine….everything I’ve dreamed of is happening for me. I’ve been on Conan O’Brien and I have this best selling book….I dream big but I don’t believe anything is owed to me, that is an important way to look at things.

Is there a country where your book has been more successful then others?Australia was insane…I got recognized a lot…and the book readings were packed and…many people over there just really embraced it.

Well, Christian, I am so grateful for your time and words of wisdom…your book is very funny but also very well written, it has changed many lives, it has influenced others to write their own versions, and it’s got people talking which is always a positive thing. I wish your book continued success and I hope you write another book one day. Thank you.
You’re welcome.

Talking with Thomas C. Dunn: Writer and Director of The Perfect Witness starring Wes Bentley

Thomas C. Dunn is the director of the captivating movie A Perfect Witness (in Europe, it's titled The Ungodly) starring Wes Bentley (American Beauty). I was thrilled to speak with him about this amazing directorial debut film, his work as a screenwriter and his collaboration with Hollywood greats such as Beth Grant (Little Miss Sunshine) and Kenny Johnson (The Sheild). He also spoke to me about his sucess as a playwright and his ongoing collaboration with writer Mark Borkowski (Cost of a Soul). The two co-wrote the screenplay and continue to write even though Thomas resides in LA and Mark in NYC. I cannot wait to see what they will produce next. A Perfect Witness was one of the best psychology thrillers I have seen to date and I was quite amazed at how the two completed the film in such short time for the film festivals.

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer/director?
I’ve been writing since I was really young, mostly short stories--hopefully not my best work, then I started writing poems in high school…short plays, full length plays…now I’ll go back and forth from plays to screenplays. As far as directing, my friend Mark Borkowski showed me this play he was writing and he was stuck on the idea and I told him, “The reason you can’t move forward is because it’s not a play, it’s a screenplay.” We began to collaborate and finished it together…we just kept working back and forth until it made sense to both of us and we had in mind that he would play the lead role of the serial killer and I would direct. It was his first major role in a feature film and my first time as a director. That became ‘The Perfect Witness.’ For the international release, it’s called ‘The Ungodly.’
Wow!
We wouldn’t do the film any other way even when it was suggested…It’s sort of the norm, just from a financial point of view, if people see that Mark didn’t have a big name as an actor or I haven’t directed several other films, there’s always a risk. We had offers to move in a ‘bigger’ actor, a more experienced director…but for Mark’s role as the serial killer, we wanted someone you couldn’t recognize from ten other films. I thought it was perfect for him because you simply don’t know what to expect…Mark’s unpredictable as an artist and a person so he just really fits the role.

You filmed in Philly…that was his choice, right?
Well, we wrote mostly in LA and NY. The film was supposed to take place in Philly but it was cheaper to do it in LA…After we scouted Philly though, I said, “Let’s just find a way to do it in here…It’s got the sort of edgy, inner-city grit and realism we want.” And we found a way to make it happen.

Mark said it only took twenty four days to shoot...
He exaggerated. It took twenty-two or twenty-one, depending how you count—on one of our days, the camera had a problem and we only shot two hours. But I had a brilliant cinematographer, Paco Femenia. He kept the crew going, the actors were locked in, everything was storyboarded and we always made sure we made our days. Sometimes you’re forced to take short cuts, but there were a few scenes, like the elevator scene…when I was told by my first AD we weren’t going to have time to do it, and I just found a way to make sure we still got it in…you know that scene where the nurse is standing in the middle of Wes and Mark and she can sense this crazy energy between the two of them?

Yeah, and I’m so glad you made that decision to keep it, it was quite well done. The bloody scenes were also intense, what was that like behind the camera?
We had a special effects person, Steve Tolin, to help design all of that but in the end it’s interesting…if you look at the scene where the waitress was terrorized…someone once said to me that was a hard scene to watch because it was so bloody but we purposely didn’t show any blood in that scene! The audience pictures a lot more of what’s going on then you actually see. It’s the emotional toll on the victim that was important to us, not showing blood.

Aside from Wes Bentley, were there any other mainstream actors in The Perfect Witness?
Yes, Beth Grant, who plays Mark’s Mom, has been in everything. She’s just an amazing actress. She’s been in Little Miss Sunshine, No Country for Old Men, Rain Man, The Rookie, Matchstick Men…she’s had a career that’s spanned decades. There’s also a small scene where a cop stops Wes and Mark from fighting…

Yeah, I remember him and he actually trusts Mark’s story that Wes’ character is freaking out because he’s not on his meds…
…he’s one of my best friends, Kenny Johnson. He was on The Shield for years and he’s now on Saving Grace with Holly Hunter. And then Joanne Baron, who plays the sister, has done a ton of work and was really a pleasure to work with, so these actors may not all be household names but they’re really experienced, professional and enthusiastic. Even the waitress, Marina Gatell…she’s a well-established Spanish actress, just not as well known over here.

It did really well in Europe, right?
Yeah. You know, our original title for The Perfect Witness was The Ungodly, but it had to be changed in the US. We were told any title that can be viewed as potentially negative toward God, distributors won’t pick up, because there’s this nebulous fear of some religious backlash. It’s absurd. We’re catering film titles to the US bible belt which probably wouldn’t watch it anyway. But in Europe and everywhere else, it’s being released as it should be, as The Ungodly. The UK release, for example, is in September, 09.

Were there many challenges to making an independent film?
Yes, time, money, resources. But the lack of some of these also forces you to be even more creative and that can actually improve the end result. So there’s no excuses. I made the film I wanted to make. It can be a double standard when it’s finished though because we all complain about Hollywood releasing big budget films with tons of effects and very little story then when certain films are made independently, we complain because they don’t have those same effects. So I think it’s important that we balance going to see blockbusters with also seeing independent films. Even supporting local musicians at shows and buying their CD’s there, it really make a big difference to truly independent artists and helps shape the landscape of what films and music are made in the future.

How did you guys get the money to do the film?
A lot of the money came from Spanish funds and some of it was private equity, just individual investors.

How did you get the money from Spain?
A Spanish company had read one of my other scripts and approached me about funding it. Mark and I had just completed writing The Perfect Witness though and when I told the Spanish company about this other screenplay, they asked to read it too. They called afterwards and said, ‘we love it. Let’s do this first…’ We were really the first US/Spanish co-production and we needed to hire some Spanish actors and crew. It was a great asset to the film though because we got access to European talent that we might not have had. I went to Spain for some casting, parts of post-production…I also worked with the composer in a little village on a mountain outside of Barcelona. As a result, I think the film has a European feel blended with Americana and I really like that about it.

And you wrote a lot of plays?
A play I wrote, The Thread Men, was just published by Samuel French as one of the best short plays of 2008…

What’s The Thread Men about?
These two people get locked in an elevator together: one is a psychiatrist and the other one acts increasingly crazy. The elevator just becomes this pressure cooker. And the audience starts to realize that these two characters share some secrets from their past…It becomes increasingly tense and dangerous as the psychological chess match between the two of them plays out.

Hmmm, I like the sound of that…sounds like you were an English major?
Yes…I was around film all the time but didn’t take film courses. I graduated as an English major from UCLA.

Do you feel this (English) degree helps you?
Not particularly. I mean, it exposed me to new writers and novels and gave me an opportunity to write. At the same time, I think I was already on this path of discovery and was learning before university and am still learning long after…

When did you meet Mark (co-writer and actor of The Perfect Witness) anyway?
I met Mark when I was in college. We would be working on stuff together back then and it would get to 3 in the morning. I’d say, ‘I have to leave to finish a paper that’s due in the morning.’ And he would say, “what, a new play?” I would say, ‘Mark, a paper. I’m in college, remember?’ He always forgot I was still a student (laughing). We would be collaborating on this intense play and then I would go home and have to write a Chaucer paper.

Wow, LA seems so cool.
Mark and I have a crazy story of how we really first got together…we did a play, Everyman. It’s a 15th century play written in verse. It alternates between two character dialogues and monologues. Mark was playing the character ‘Knowledge’ and I had this small, five line part. The lead guy suddenly quit though and the director…he was crazy…said, “Anyone else want to do the lead?” And I said, “I will.” It was that simple. The director would just leave the theater and everything was up to the actors to do themselves.

Sounds awful…
The play opens with the main character, ‘Everyman,’ dying and having to make an accounting of how he lived his life to God. Even though it’s this Christian-morality play, Mark convinced me to mime overdosing from heroin in the opening scene. Mark was modernizing it. The director just shrugged. So one night, during a rehearsal, the theater fills up with 50 women from some Jewish women’s group that had pre-paid to see a different show. The director rushes backstage in a panic and tells us we have to put our play up, even though it’s a Christian play. Half the cast had already gone home for the night but Mark just wrote their names on my hand and told me to go on and do it. I had to improvise almost the whole thing, looking down at my hand and skipping around actors who weren’t there, ad-libbing in verse…I’m on stage, sweating and anxious as hell, doing my best, and I can hear Mark laughing hysterically behind the curtains…and that was our first time working together.

You’re writing screenplays now?
I just finished a new script I will work to direct, called The Assassin Club…and currently, I’m working on a screenplay that will be filmed by a Greek director, Vangelis Liberopoulos…I just got back from a month in Athens doing research and now I’m writing it…It deals with the Greek riots that lasted about a month last December after a 15 year-old boy was shot by a policeman.

Anything that stood out to you when you were there in Athens?
When you get behind some of the things that happened, it’s really amazing. Take for example, the cops who worked 20-22 hours a day during the riots. Many of them had second and third jobs because they only make about $15,000 US a year. Because of the hours they worked during the riots, they had to quit these extra jobs so they’re really struggling for money. The government steps in though and gives them a bonus of 500 euros for all their hard work. Three months after the riots end though, the government says, ‘yeah, you know that bonus? It was more like a loan that we’re now deducting back out of your pay checks.’

That’s not right!
I spent the whole month in Athens hearing some really interesting things. As a writer, it’s important to be a good listener. If you mean what you say and do what say, you gain people’s trust and they can really open up to you. I think if you stop any one person in the street and sit down and hear about their life, they will become fascinating…

What are the European films festivals like?

They’re all so different. For example, in Brussels, there were 500 people screaming at me in a French to sing when I got on stage to introduce my film. It’s their fun sort of way of heckling the director. I just started ad-libbing the Willy Wonka ‘Oompa Lompa song’ with my own lyrics. It ended with something like ‘Oompa Loompa doompity da, here-is-my-film-enjoy-Voila!’ They just went nuts!

Are there any celebrities you’d like to meet…I always ask this cheesy question.
I don’t have a strong desire to meet this or that specific person. I’ve met a lot of celebrities and I mean, I absolutely appreciate their talent but I don’t really know them as people…Maybe there’s ones I’d like to work with but not just to meet…When I see independent artists creating music, writing scripts, etc., not really knowing if anyone will ever hear or see the end result of their efforts, that’s actually inspiring to me. I can appreciate them just as much for their hard work, belief and talent…

What was Wes Bentley like? I want to meet him!
He’s a great guy. He worked extremely hard on this film. Usually actors get some breaks, to relax in their trailers every now and then but we really worked him non-stop. He did a great job…he was in every scene!

How did you support yourself when you were still just an up and coming writer/director?
I did all kinds of jobs but just continued to write as I worked. Anything, everything. I mean I was a stockbroker in New York for two years a long time ago...

What a contrast!
Yeah, and I convinced them that I couldn’t work on Fridays so I would work four days, wrote three. I saved money and after two years, took off and traveled for 10 months through Asia, just writing, learning, jumping trains, crossing borders…I think experiencing other cultures is a huge asset for a creative person.

How do your parents feel about you having such a creative lifestyle?
They’ve never said throughout my entire life, ‘do this or do that’. They’re always there for me, unconditionally. They’ve allowed me to make my own choices and supported those I made. Sometimes parents try to steer their children at the expense of ruining their relationship with them. Just love your kids, support them and let them follow their passion…

That’s very true, if everyone did what made them happy, people could get a lot more done. Thank you so much for meeting with me to discuss your work. It’s fascinating, I love it.
Thank you and you’re welcome.

Chillin with Chris Campion: Writer, Playwright, and Singer of Band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjkHZWQIfeo

WNEW: What's remarkable about this book is that it reads almost like a screenplay, with the author's monologue and the characters' dialogue so vividly intertwined it feels more like you're watching it happen around you, not reading it on the page. Campion has no doubt told and re-told these stories from many a barstool, perfecting the sequence of events but retaining that off-the-cuff delivery that makes them feel so real. Nowhere is this more genuine and hilarious than during the early scenes in the book that deal with his childhood in Huntington. From stories of sneaking out to watch his brothers play rock band in the garage, to the very humbling tale of moving home after dropping out of college, Chris's remembrances reveal the loving family that plays witness to his undoing. Phillster: Speaking with Chris Campion was a real roller coater ride. He is the author of the recent book, Escape from Bellevue and the lead member of the popular indie rock band, Knock Out Drops. We spoke about his humble beginnings, some of his adventures and his influences both musically and literary.
Tell me a bit about your temporary leave from your band.
We were an indie rock band putting out records for years and my life spiraled down a rabbit hole which is the major part of the book so coming back from that…you know I was a drug addict and an alcoholic, the title is when I was in Bellevue from 1998-2000 and our band had a bad history in the music business (during that time)…in the chapter, “Always a Bridesmaid” I illustrate this how we were always on the precipice of something big…we were always the opening for bands like the Violent Femms and Soul Asylum…but couldn’t go beyond that for whatever reason.

How did you go about getting reacquainted with them?
In 2000, I got sober and the band had been derailed by all of this so we got back together and put back together an album in 2003-2004. Around that time I was always in the habit of telling stories during the shows to make it part of the wider experience. We had this record that we were going to do when I came back from one of our tours and I had this idea to do like a rock-in-roll theater show…

That’s taking music in a different direction…
…and we ended up slapping it up, doing it in a hundred seat theater and it just took off beyond our expectations and we ended up extending it to three shows and along the way this thing happened on the radio, we picked up an agent, I wrote a book proposal, and the story (Escape from Bellevue) got picked up by Penguin.

That’s great publicity for your band…
Yeah, we graduated to a 300 seat theater, the Village Theater, when that show wrapped I wrote the book I was commissioned to do and the book came out March 19, 2009.

How inspiring, it’s all so adventurous.
Now it’s about doing performances around the passages; sometimes with the band, other times by myself…next Sunday I’ll be in Long Beach (the Cabana) and next Thursday we’ll be promoting in Riverdale doing a reading, then there’s a Boston Show at the Paradise Rock Club (one of the most famous venues up there, like Irving Plaza), after that at the Steven Talk House in the East Hampton area, I’ve been doing a ton of interviews with The New York Times, Newsday…

You’re keeping busy. Does your band get more groupies the bigger you guys get?

(laughing) The term is just like…it paints an image of giggling young women and I wouldn’t say the people that followed us around were groupies but you know with any band…our followers were primarily outside of New York and then when we moved here we built it up…we played with bigger bands, so the groupies were usually theirs (laughing). We have a lot of fans; you know I don’t know about too many groupies.

You escaped from Bellevue, right? So tell me about that…
Well, it is the climax of the story so I can’t tell you too much about that…there’s a lot of humor in the book, which is the Irish way…

Oh, you’re Irish?
Well, I’m Irish American…I don’t consider myself like Steve McQueen, I’m more like Benny Hill, you’re going to have to read the book to get that answer.

So if I’m not mistaken you got an advance to write this?
Oh, yea, it was really cool, we did that huge show that I mentioned and I wasn’t sure how we were going to do and then you know, the book…the idea of doing that was presented to me and then after I did the deal, there’s a kind of euphoria…at first you’re kind of jumping and then there’s this kind of terror…and then you start freaking.

That must have been serious pressure, you got paid well for a book you hadn’t even written yet…how did you manage it?
You know I had this 17 chapter outline. And I had this really great editor; it was great to have a good editor who can kind of say, “Okay, cut the fat off this…” I think it’s good to always stay within your outline. It definitely was kind of a terrifying thing, there’s this fear that nothing’s going to come out.

I bet…
I was playing gigs in New York at the time…I actually had to go away and get some work done. I decided to stay at my friend’s house in New Hampshire. It was winter time, very desolate, no internet and I just buckled down and then I came out to the city and I kicked out about 6 or 7 chapters…

That’s a huge accomplishment.
It’s obviously an amazing day when you get a book deal, just like it would be to get a record deal or art deal…with a book, it’s good to get someone to pay you and trust you but it’s also one of those ‘be careful what you wish for scenarios.’

Is your book completely autobiographical?

Yeah, although there is a note to the reader that because I was incredibly high at times…it’s not a social studies book, don’t hold me to any timeline, you know?

(Laughing) That was nice of you to give them a heads up…who are your literary influences?
My influences would be…Hunter Thompson would be one…Frederick Exley.

I’m not familiar with him.
He wrote A Fan’s Notes, a sort of memoir with a wink that he wrote in the 1960s and dialing it back…John Irving, John Steinbeck…

Those are great writers…
Obviously, I’m sort of doing monologues for people in the book, that’s the narrative tone and that was my objective and that’s what I feel like I’ve accomplished.

Are there any movie offers yet?
Well, that’s going on right now…we had an offer to convert it into an HBO series. The book only came out two months ago. In the fall, we might do a college theater show to promote the book. It comes out in paperback next year. It’s doing well in the Tri-State area where I’m from and we’ll be doing the West Coast swing soon.

Can you compare it to promoting albums?
It’s definitely different than promoting my music especially because I am a first time author.

I just love how you’re affiliated with my favorite radio station in the world, 90.7. I love how your already successful band got a big reception on that show.
I love all of what they play on that station. You know you can hear Modest Mouse or The Replacements…I just love that they don’t have to adhere to…I hate commercial cock rock. My taste is coming from an indie background…I feel like it’s the best radio station in town…

I do too….
….and discovering people and playing new stuff…it reminds me of when I was a kid growing up in Long Island…we had WLIR, and at the time they would play XPC and early U2, they played them two years before Bloody Sunday…they played them in 1980, it was an alternative to classic rock, you know elsewhere they played “Born to Be Wild” forty times a day. I mean I did grew up with this…you know Stones, Beatles but 90.7 keeps it current and they also do county, like The Jay Hawks and Steve Earl and to get on there for me at the time…I mean I didn’t even that Julian Welby was there…at my show!

It seems like she really played a big part.
She came down with her husband and they both loved it and then they asked us to come in and it was that fast. We got played during prime time, it was all lickedly-split…people were getting ready in the apartments to go to work and that’s when my soon-to-be agent heard it …

You were on this positive flow.

I did not plan for it and say, “You know if this succeeds, I’ll write a book…” it just ended up being…ever since we started doing that show in 2005, everything’s been new, everything is a dream, you know life gets more and more interesting it seems.

Do you feel curtailing your wild lifestyle had anything to do with it?
I don’t think anything could have been possible without it (sobriety), you know the “getting it” part is all in the book…circumstantially I would never have been able to write a book. But there are a lot of drunk-great writers like the two I mentioned earlier but I don’t think I have that kind of discipline. You know I was always able to write songs and play but I’m an alcoholic so eventually I couldn’t function. When I drink or drug that’s it for me.

What is the odyssey that is part of the book’s title?
You know the realization that I had this story of the band, it is kind of an odyssey in a sense, starting with me as a kid….the singer of Deep Purple lived next door to me so I always had my sights set on becoming a rock star but then there’s always been a quest for faith at the same time. I had a falling out with it (faith) when I was eighteen years old in college. But at the same time I never stopped trying to foster a relationship with god and I really missed the companionship of it and so you know that’s a big part of it too. As I descend further and further into alcoholism, it’s all very colorful, having all these crazy adventures. I’m really just trying to grapple with faith so the story is really how I try to get that…so there were many of these sort of moments…I would say quite a few along the way that were turning points; things like interventions. There was a time that I was ostracized by my family and I’m in a big Irish family…all my extended family was there.

What were some negative pressures holding you back?

I got to a point where I bought into the mythology of writers, look at those I’ve mentioned and then there was also people like Dean Martin or Jim Morrison and I bought into that stuff and didn’t want to get sober. I just thought it was…I was pigheaded about recovery at first…I was very much against that…I think for me when I was in rehab and this was like my second rehab…this guy who was a former drug lord…and we were in this detox together and as we’re both unpacking our gear I asked him where he was from. He took off his shirt and showed me gun shot wounds and said, “That’s where I’m from mother ******” and then he looked at me and I showed him my thirteen stitches from when I fell off my bike…

That’s hysterical.
…and he ended up being one of my best friends in there and I realized that this guy who came from a completely different background…at that moment all the armor came off. I would cite that as probably one of the biggest moments of my life and that was something that put me on a bright and shiny path, not to sound too corny.

You don’t…I wish you and your band and of course, your book continued success. I love the concept of your book and happy to see your positive choices in life have taken you to incredible places…it really affirms the importance of living life to its fullest.
Thank you.

Chatting with Colin Broderick, the writer of Orangutan

Released by Random House December

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3H-HlIYhHk

It's been awhile since I've been excited about a book release. After hearing about Orangutan and pounding the pavement to find the writer, I finally got an interview with the Colin himself. He openly discussed his difficulty getting sober in an environment that condemns recovery, to the process of his book and finding an established agent...who holds the key to world wide publication/distribution so others in his predicament can be helped...before it is too late.

It's so nice to meet you...I'm so excited for the release of your book! I've heard so many great things about it. Tell me what it was like getting an agent for it?
I met a guy called Chris Campion...he wrote a book called Escape from Bellevue. I said, "If you get me an interview with your agent you'll never regret it!"

Just like that...that's the luck of the Irish for ya.

And she's the same agent for Barack Obama's book, "Dreams From My Father..." Three Rivers Press-Random House.

How many millions of copies do you think that book sold?
It hasn't left the best seller list for like two years now. Yeah, we hit it off immediately. She's huge now...we met just before he became the president. She just encouraged him to write a book after he graduated....

She obviously has an eye for talent. How many books have you actually written?
Three altogether, this is my first book that's been published.

Tell me about this soon to be released in book stores nation-wide book!
I'm actually working on the final edits as I'm speaking to you then the book will be in stores in December.

This is magic! I'm just in time...this interview is going to be gold soon. What will readers expect?

It's a memoir that chronicles the 20 years I spent working as a construction worker here in New York...and all the drinking...and trying to become a writer...

The title of your book is really significant...

Yeah, the book is called, Orangutan and the direct translation is man of the forest...the title of the book comes from when I was in a bar in California at the age of 23 and I was drinking with a black drag queen who was convinced that she was the true queen of England and she was crying on my shoulder about it...

Oh my god!
...And he/she said, "You don't know what's it like to be trapped inside a man's body" and I said, "But I do understand... I know what it's like to be trapped! I want to be an orangutan but I'm trapped in a man's body."

(laughing)

...so everytime I drank I became an orangutan and started acting inappropriately in public and ended up in jail...because that's what happens when you're an orangutan in an urban environment!

How many times did you go to jail?
Twice here in New York.

What were the offenses?
Drunk driving...I began to attempt recovery at the age of 23.

What happened?
I was knocked down by a car at the age of 24 and broke my back in two places and became a pill popper for about seven years...

As an Irish man, how long did it take you to return to work after breaking your back?
They told me I'd never be able to do construction again but I was back in less then a year.

Sounds like something my own father would do...What did you do for money when you weren't working at that time?
Workman's Comp.

Thank god!

I didn't drink again until I was 31 and was going through my second divorce and then the cycle began again...everything that didn't happen the first time around happened...the waking up in hospitals, the jails...

So when you returned to work after getting hit by a car and stopped drinking for those few years before your relapse at the age of 31, what else were you doing?
I went back to college and studied under Billy Collins and he became my mentor...I studied poetry with him.

Did you ever publish any of your poems?
I won the Alice B Croft Award while I was there.

Did you graduate?
No, I quit before I graduated...

Oh no!
...and opened up a book store/coffee shop in Riverdale.

Sounds awesome...was it successful?
No, but it stayed open for two years anyway....

What happened, why'd it close?
It's not as romantic as you'd think...when you're on the other side of the counter...I detail it in the book...how I just got sick of working 17 hours a day. But we had the best of the top poets world wide: Column McCann, Billy Collins, a long list of names...

Are you still in touch with Billy Collins?
I'm not sure, I haven't heard from him since I quit drinking. I'm beginning to think I might have insulted him in a late night drunken phone call. We've been friends for fifteen to sixteen years...

Who is your favorite writer?
Hemingway and Bukowski.

Who?
Charles Bukowski...he's a German...he just wrote all about his drinking and his debauchery...he's just a wild man, he's great...and Hemingway just for his clarity.

So, you never gradated college but you still wrote a book? I love it!
A few of my professors told me to just go write...I guess they were afraid I'd become a teacher and get lost in the system.

That happens way too often. Is there any censoring in Orangutan?
No, none whatsoever...whatever came out of my mouth went into the book...I wrote over 500 pages and it got edited down to 386 something like that...it's tough when you're writing a book...the people who know me are actually surprised of what I left out, you have to keep the thread of the story moving along so that the reader doesn't get bored with it.

What countries are mentioned?
I do a drunken trip to Paris, Russia...it goes from NY to San Francisco, Ireland, England....and in the end I wind up in Prague!

Why does the book end there?
I met this bartender called Renata and she gave me the will to finally sober up. We moved to Prague together to get away from it all for a while. At the moment I'm working on my new book and putting my documentary together and still working construction when I need the work.

Did you feel there was a lot of peer pressure to drink as an Irish Construction worker?
Sure, absolutely...it's in the book about the irony that the more I drank...the better I got paid and the more jobs I got...

That is ironic...so not good if you have a drinking problem!

(laughing) ...because all the Irish guys I know will claim they drink more than you do anyway so it's hard to say, "Hey guys...I have a problem."

True...where did you drink in Woodlawn (Irish section of the Bronx)?
I used to drink in the Catalpa and if a sane person walked in one night and seen what was going on they'd call people to come for straight jackets...I mean it's insanity...it's easy when you're drinking in the nuthouse to say,"They're the problem...it's not us, we're just drinking,..having fun."

Do you think the ugly stereotype for the Irish is true then?
Yes, it's very grounded in reality...what Mexican bars? What Italian? No...it's Irish...the stereotype is there because we drink. There are Asian, Italian, Chinese restaurants but 8 times out of 10 where there's a bar...it's Irish and that's because we drink.

You're right...come to think of it, I've never seen a Chinese bar, ever, maybe once.

When this book comes out the Irish are going to burn me at the stake but they'll buy the book anyway because they'll want to see if they're mentioned in it and what bars I talked about...

Wow!

There's actually been a book burning of Angela's Ashes....for this one they'll forgo the burning of the book and just burn me...

I hope not...I want you to keep writing, this stuff is really good.
Most Irish writers had to leave Ireland or stay in it and drink themselves to death...the Irish are famous for murdering their own talent...

That's very sad.
The Irish don't want to see anybody rise above the rest..that's why people like Shane McGowan and Brendan Behan were revered...it's only when Irish writers became honest and wrote about the truth that they came up against criticism......

In your book do you mention any dry out sessions?
Yeah, the book discusses how "Real Irish" don't need detox..the American dries out, goes to rehab and then to recovery....

Not common for many Irish!

No, the Irish guy dries out and goes back to the bar....

In conclusion...
In conclusion, it's much harder first of all culturally to admit defeat and then ask for help...we don't need no help...

I'm so excited to own a copy...I think your book will help others. It is so sad to see people suffer when they don't have to.

I always say in my book that in every room in recovery there needs to be an Irish guy to lend an air of authenticity.

That's interesting.
I think the Irish culturally have real problems with communication especially when it comes to talking about their problems and emotions....Americans are much more open...

Ah...thank you...
...when you sit down with an American they'll tell you everything whereas in Ireland they'll tell you about the weather and what they're wearing or they'll talk about the other great past time football...I guess you could say that I've been amazed that for a country that is revered for it's literary history...there are no contemporary writers...it's amazing...

Yeah, we need another Joyce and I hope that'll be you. So what happens in the end?
...I got married for the third time, to Renata.

THIRD TIME!
...we moved to Prague and I'm now back living in New York with my wife and daughter doing what I was meant to do, which is writing.

Doing what you love! That's perfect...your story is perfect for my book/blog because it stays true to its premise. I'm dying dying for a copy of your book....they're going to sell like crazy.
Thank you.


Below is a link to a recent piece by the author published in The New York Times:


www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/opinion/29broderick.html?pagewanted=print

Talking with Tony Napoli

Speaking with Tony Nap was something I never imagined I would get the opportunity to do. He has had an incredible life. He is the son of Jimmy Napoli, the original Italiano...long before there was Gotti. In his new book, My Father, My Don, Tony recounts his combat training, how he took the law into his own hands, found sobriety and rediscovered the strong bond between him and his father. This book is currently being given to those in recovery at many rehabilitation centers around the country. Although he helps hundreds of people turn their lives around for the good, he is first and foremost a family man...

It’s wonderful to meet you Tony, thank you for sitting down to discuss your book with me, it’s a great honor.

You’re welcome.

I see you collaborated with Charles Messina?

I hired a team of writers that I paid because I’m not the writer, I’m the author…I’m just telling the story, Charles was the last writer I hired and he finalized the book… it is now the 9th best selling organized crime book!


Sounds like he did a good job.

He did. The book can be purchased at Amazon.com, just go to book search and type in the title and they’ll have it to you in a couple of days.

Has Hollywood approached you about the book?

Yes, I’ve went to Vegas twice and Hollywood twice to promote my book…we’re all in talks of a movie.

When?

Not anytime soon, there are some things they (Hollywood) would like to see changed but I won’t change.

Like what?

We do not live the Soprano lifestyle…we had to be at the diner table every night and Sunday by 3 PM and that was family time. We never brought the business inside the home. We never questioned my father. If we read about him in the papers…he was the king of the numbers racket of 5 boroughs of New York…we never asked questions.

Were there any similarities?

Sure, the night clubs, loan sharks, places like Va-Va-Voom, being the judge and jury, we didn’t call the cops. If there were any assaults, we handled it within the family…all domestic fights are handled in the family.

Are the roles they depict realistic in any way?

In some ways…usually the wife does stay home. She doesn’t go night clubbing with the husband and usually the man, especially if he has a title, travels with a group of people. And he might meet a broad but not on a steady basis…only if he was looking for a woman for the night. Wives were kept at home and it was a no-no for any man of the mob to fool around with a married woman, that’s a no-no.

When did you begin writing this beautifully articulated memoir?

When I was 26 years old but what happened was when I was writing (it) my father came in my room and ripped up my material…years later, I get older, everyone passes away. I get older, I get more material…

Oh wow…

In the year 2001, I hired some writers. The big boys…I’m from that blood line, like the FBI calls it. I started hiring writers six years ago in June 2001. I finished my story with a young writer from NYU; it took us two years to complete, from the year 2006-2008. He put the excerpts together...about a thousand pages of them…I still have over three hundred pages that I didn’t use.

That’s a lot of material!

My publisher and the young writer, who’s also a screen play writer suggested a second edition if it doesn’t go into a film first…I also have a screen play sequel and prequel to the book, My Father, My Don.
What is the moral of the story?

My story is about how a son journeyed from organized crime to sobriety. On the cover of the book, there are amazing quotes from Nick Pileggi "A must-read for anyone looking for an insider’s look at life in the mob"(wrote the screenplay for Wise Guy and Goodfellas, and Casino), Bill Gallo (Daily News correspondent) "A knockout! This powerful book examines, in great detail, Tony Nap's checkered past and his amazing comeback, including all the help he now provides former fighters through his work with the Ring 8 Veteran Boxers Association," Sonny Girard (writer of Snake Eyes and Blood of Our Fathers)"Unlike mob rats telling their stories with gratuitous and self serving lies, Tony tells his with honesty and a peacefulness of a man having come to grips with past conflicts in a peaceful way. Readers will see things as they really were, not as the writer wishes they might have been."…he learned to write while serving time in jail…and Sonny Grosso (producer of the academy-award winning picture, The French Connection).


Oh, I heard of Sonny Grosso, wasn’t he a cop?

Yes and at one point we didn’t get along but he changed his position with me because now we’re both on the same page. He said my story was “a true story told in the style of the French Connection.”

That’s fascinating. So where in your life do you start retelling (it)?

When you read chapter one of my book…how I took the law into my own hands when a punk in my daughter’s college sexually assaulted her…I said I’d ‘handle it’ and that meant I wasn’t gonna call the cops.

I would have killed him…I’m sorry, that’s such a tragedy.

I almost did. In chapter one, I detail the incident. After slicing the man's part of the body that he
doesn't want cut in the classroom, I was sentenced to three and a half years...

In the classroom? In front of the teacher and students?

I pushed the punk against the door that opened into a biology class dissecting a frog. That teacher went back to England after that and never came back!

You said you were sentenced to three and a half years?

The judge knew of my probable cause and believed I needed therapy more than a jail sentence and protected my daughter's honor and thought of it as a ‘sensitive case.’

That’s really honorable of you. Any father would have done the exact same thing. You were protecting your family…

The sobriety part of my life began July 11…15 years ago, that’s what helped me out of my life of crime, you can find you’re way into sobriety no mater what…

That’s amazing, getting sober is the hardest thing to do…how is your daughter now?

My daughter today is happily married and has two masters’ degrees, she’s doing fine now. Now she teaches teachers how to teach.

You’ve had many ups and downs...your story is such an inspiration. What was it like when you were sentenced to the VA hospital as a prisoner for therapy treatment?

I had classes six and a half hours a day, five days a week learning bout how alcohol harms the body. Before that I was considered 'The Prince of Vegas' hiring entertainers like Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and Sinatra, etc, etc. to work at Caesar’s palace, I was their employer… and all that drinking I did takes a toll. I thought my best years were my drinking years…but it was hard for me to handle my responsibilities. Thanks to the judge who sentenced me to the VA hospital where I found sobriety.

Do you sponsor people in the program now?

My phone is available for anyone who needs my help and I am responsible for retired fighters. I help raise money for those who can’t afford it and I’m a volunteer for the VA hospital, I bring to them the knowledge I had when I was a union rep.

How would you describe yourself now?

I’m dull; people say no, you’re more exciting now because you’re doing good things.
When you do bad things everyone wants to know about it, it’s not when you do good.

That’s so true; the media is obsessed about it when anyone famous screws up! It’s not right. What other celebrities did you meet?

Laura Bacall, Joe Lewis…I walked the floor at Cesar’s Palace as a floor boss with heavy weight champion Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Former Heavy-Weight Champ of the World, Paddy DeMarco, Light Weight Champ of the World.

What was it like meeting Sinatra? I am a fan.

Sinatra is in chapter 21 of my book and it tells of how he went to the casino manager at the Sands Hotel (Vegas, Nevada) in 1967 and caused a disturbance. I was a floor boss and Frank was looking for a 10,000 dollar marker at the craps table. That's when Carl Cohen, the casino manager told Frankie we sold the casino to Howard Hughes' people and their representative Bob Mahu changed all procedures stating, 'No Markers!' And Frank got mad and pushed Carl Cohen. And Carl escorted Frank to his suite and knocked a few of his teeth out because Frank said he would not perform that night and refused to work for Howard Hughes' people. That was the last time Frankie worked at the Sands Hotel and he went up the road to work at Cesar's Palace.

Would you have given Sinatra the marker?

Yeah, if it was up to me…I mean if a celebrity's working for you and his pay is $250,000 a week and you're paying him and he wants a $10,000 marker, you give it to him.

What else do you discuss in your book?

After I got discharged from the United States Air Force, I was a Sergeant…when I got discharged I had disagreements with my father and had to leave. I had to leave because I worked over a crocked cop who tried to shake me down! My father settled the dispute and I had to leave town and I went on a lamb for three and a half years. And changed my name to Tony Reo and I did my boxing and fighting under this name out West to make a living. While doing that I read the New York papers and it was printed in Forbes magazine that my father was number four as one of the richest men in the United States who never paid income tax. And I was picking cotton for 75 cents an hour! I traveled in carnivals as a fighter fighting spectators under the name of Tony Reo to eat. During this time of my life, I lost my mother to cancer and I was not aware of it.

There must be a lot of publicity surrounding the publication of your book?

Hollywood wants me for five segments of a TV show, a reality pilot, “Home Made." It's about seven ex-mobsters who want to go straight and open up a chain of "Home-Made" restaurants and compete with the likes of McDonalds...and there's another video called "Cooking with the Family" about the wise-guys favorite recipe...and the book trailer video, My Father, My Don that I narrate explaining my autobiography.

So at the moment, no movie?

I keep turning them down because they want me to sell my life rights. I don’t want it just to be entertaining…I want people to see the discipline, the family life. The way it was back then...the way only the father discusses the 'occupation', (Jimmy Nap was also a boxing manager, promoter, helped entertainers get jobs, a gambler, he banked the number racket for over 40 years in the five boroughs in New York). There'll be no movie if I have to sell my life rights.

I like that, that’s honorable.