Best Sports Movies

In my last Poll of the Moment, I asked you - devoted readers and culture consumers - which was your favorite sports movie. I was curious as I'd just begun my soccer script for ESPN. And the critics have spoken! Your top choices were Victory, Hoosiers, the Replacements, Caddyshack, Rounders, Vision Quest, Bull Durham, Breaking Away, Any Given Sunday, Remember the Titans, da Rockies, Happy Gilmore, and Brian’s Song.

Any movies missing from that list?

Kafka on the Joys of Writing

For all you writers out there discouraged that you're not feeling the inspiration, here are a few entries from Kafka's journal (from the period when he was writing The Trial).

They illustrate that anyone can get writer's block, but more importantly, that self-perception is not always accurate. Here he was, feeling at a low point during the time when he was creating an enduring piece of literature.

___

Jan 20: The end of writing. When will it take me up again?

Jan 29: Again, tried to write, vritually useless.

Jan 30: The old incapacity. Interrupted my writing for barely ten days and already cast out. Once again, prodigious efforts stand before me. You have to dive down, as it were, and sink more rapidly than that which sinks in advance of you.

Feb 7: Complete standstill. Unending torments.

Thriller Writers - Renaissance Men and Women?

I just got back from Thrillerfest, where much of the discussion centered around what thriller writers do in their outside lives. A lot of thriller writers, I've learned, have a variety of hobbies and skills, everything from stunt flying to cave diving. And many have other jobs as well - cops, firemen, businessmen, CIA operatives. As I overheard one reader comment, "Doesn't anyone just write books anymore?"

I think part of this is the thriller writer's temperment; he likes high stakes and excitement, so is prone to seek it out in his life, or to use research as an excuse for new adventures. And this topic reminded me of one of my favorite quotations, from JFK during a Commencement speech at Harvard. He was discussing how politicians have strayed in their interests from their intellectual predecessors, remarking of Thomas Jefferson that he was, "a gentleman of 32, who could calculate an eclipse, survey an estate, tie an artery, plan an edifice, try a cause, break a horse, dance a minuet, and play the violin." While it would be ill-advised to compare even the most sophisticated of thriller writers to Jefferson, the former President and Renaissance man certainly gives us all something to aspire to.

Thrillerfest

I'm off to Thrillerfest today, which takes place at the elegant Frank Lloyd Wright Biltmore in Phoenix. This is the first convention dedicated exclusively to thrillers, thriller fans, and thriller writers. Weather reports have Phoenix at about 115 degrees, so be prepared for lots of bad comments on various blogs about this "hot" event.

I will be moderating a panel of dedicated thriller readers, participating on a panel with Christopher Rice, Chris Mooney, and Will Staeger - with Tess Gerritsen moderating - about new types of heroes/protagonists, and giving the award for Best Thriller Screenplay (I chaired the panel that decided). The noms for Best Script are:

MATCH POINT (screenplay by Woody Allen)
SYRIANA (based on the book by Robert Baer, written by Stephen Gaghan)
CACHE (screenplay by Michael Haneke)
OLDBOY (screenplay by Jo-yun Hwang, Chun-hyeong Lim, Joon-hyung Lim, and Chan-wook Park; story by Garon Tsuchiya)
MUNICH (screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth; based on the book by George Jonas)

Winner to be announced at the banquet Saturday night.

Hope to see some of you there!

Reader Feedback

Every writer I know gets feedback from their readers. Some types of readers are more likely to write or email than others. Maybe you ran over a cat in one of your books. Maybe you got a fact wrong about the Glock one of your characters carries. You will hear about it. Cat-lovers and gun-lovers at last find common ground!

Now and then I get an email about a mistake I've made that I find utterly charming. And this one is an example of that:
-----
One hundred six/seven years ago Rimsky Korsakov composed the Flight of the Bumble Bee.

I am nearing 76 years of age. I commenced piano lessons at age 4. My mother was a classically trained pianist of considerable dexterity and varied repertoire - but that comes with decades of practice and performance. I heard her play Flight of the Bumble Bee without missing a single 64th note. I seethed with envy and respect - in that order.

About 35/40 years after the piece was first performed the staff producing The Green Hornet, searching for an appropriate theme and knowing absolutely nothing about the difference between hornets and bumble bees opted to use Nikoli's piece.

I recall being glued to the Philco cathedral radio listening to the Green Hornet, thrilling to the theme rendered by a stringed ensemble.

I have read every one of your books. I frequently have laughed out loud at some of your very witty writings. I lost my wife of 54.3 years of happy marriage last year. We both read avidly. I think I average 200 books a year or thereabouts.

Now searching for a comparison I envision Bear could make his living in the World Wrestling Alliance. I think it was in KILL CLAUSE you had Bear humming the "theme from the Green Hornet."

Have you ever attempted to do that? When I read that line I marked the page with a laminated book mark and for roughly 5 minutes tried to hum the Flight of the Bumble Bee. Now I have been a fair to middling pianist most of my adult life. I could not hum it. I firmly believe no one else could, let alone our mutual friend Bear-- or his creator!

If you'll keep writing I'll try to live to read as many of your books as possible in whatever time remains in my life. The tie between the drugs in the punch in THE PROGRAM and Al Gore kept me laughing gleefully for an enjoyable spell.

Note this e-mail is written on faint but discernible replicated sheet music. Perhaps Bear could sight read and hum it in a future plot.
_________

I wrote back:

I just listened to the Green Hornet theme and yes, it would be difficult for someone to hum, especially Bear, who generally has his mouth full. Your suggestion about Bear as a professional wrestler made me laugh – particularly after the Great Mustaro scene in TROUBLESHOOTER.
________
And the gentleman was, in fact, kind enough to include some sheet music for the next time Bear feels like humming.

The Proposition

This bloody Australian Western, written by Nick Cave, directed by John Hillcoat, and starring Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone (who is inspired), Danny Huston, John Hurt, David Wenham, and Emily Watson is an exercise in elegance and economy. It's a beautiful piece, so violent it might make Peckinpah cringe, but most amazing is the starkness of the plot——how little is said and done to set forth epic conflict. I want to give nothing away, but I will say that by the end of the first scene, the film's major dilemma is set firmly in place. That dilemma has consequences for all the major characters, and the complications deepen, twist, and intensify with no contrivance and gorgeous simplicity. I'd recommend it to any writer (all of us?) still learning how to say more in fewer words. It proves yet again that often the most compelling plots are also the most elegant in design.

Thriller

Many of you have likely heard about THRILLER, the new anthology put out from the Internation Thriller Writers through Mira. Edited by James Patterson, it features stories from Lee Child, David Morrell, Christopher Rice, Chris Mooney, Gayle Lynds, James Siegel, Ted Bell, Grant Blackwood, Lincoln Child, David Dun, Heather Graham, James Grippando, Denise Hamilton, Raelynn Hillhouse, Alex Kava, J.A. Konrath, John LesCroart, Robert Liparulo, David Liss, Eric Van Lustbader, Dennis Lynds, Katherine Neville, Michael Palmer, Douglas Preston, Christopher Reich, James Rollins, MJ Rose, Brad Thor, M. Diane Vogt, and F. Paul Wilson. Oh, and yours truly. I have a little piece in there called "Dirty Weather." Quite a cast, huh?

The book offers a unique chance to see some of the top names in the genre showing off.

I must say, I'm amused by the flap copy, which lists a number of the all-stars, then says the anthology includes "four of the hottest new voices in the genre." Which four? And why only four? I think this is a strategy of flattery - it leaves every other contributing author believing they're one of the four. Kidding aside, Mira's done an excellent job in publishing and marketing this puppy - anthologies ain't easy - and I'm pleased it's getting the big launch it deserves.

One other thing's for sure, when I look at that list, I see more than four of the hottest new voices. This anthology is a pleasure through and through and I'm flattered to be included in such company.

Faulkner in His Own Voice

This is an absolutely amazing website:

http://town.hall.org/radio/HarperAudio/080294_harp_ITH.html

It contains clips of Faulkner reading excerpts from his own work, and you can hear him deliver his Nobel Prize acceptance speech (one of the finest speeches about art ever written). The acceptance gives me the chills every time I read it, and this is the first time I was able to hear it read aloud - and from the salty Southerner himself. Simply staggering. I think every writer should have a copy of this taped above their desk. Thanks to Harper for providing us all this unique opportunity.

Do give it a listen.

Laughing Sinner Prisoners Pull Off Daring Freeway Escape

This is a great mock news article my publicist put together. I thought some of you readers out there might get a kick out of it.

L.A. CHRONICLE
50 cents, Tuesday, August 30, 2005

HIGHWAY HOMICIDE
Two Officers Dead, Armed Fugitives on the Run

Early this morning the lanes of a busy Los Angeles freeway played witness to a truly horrific and daring escape involving an extremely well-timed roadblock and enough explosives to blow a hole through four lanes of highway.

Prisoner’s Den Laurey and “Kaner,” both chief members of the outlaw biker gang, The Laughing Sinners, were en route to San Bernardino County Jail where Con Air transport was awaiting the arrival of the two felons to take the prisoners to a federal penitentiary. The prisoners were serving time for the torture-killing of three members of their rival biker gang - The Cholos.

There is speculation that the two prisoners had outside help from the nomads, a separate and notorious chapter of the infamous Laughing Sinners gang.

The Warrant Squad’s Escape Team has arranged a special task force to help track down these felons and sources say that former deputy US marshal Tim Rackley, known by some as TROUBLESHOOTER, has been called on to the case.

At this time the police department has confirmed that deputy U.S. marshal’s Frank Palton and Hank Mancone were killed in the incident and four unnamed deputies received significant injuries.

The escaped felons are currently at large and considered to be armed and extremely dangerous.

Brokeback to the Future

A while ago I posted a trailer of The Shining, recut, re-voiced-over, and re-scored as a feel-good movie. A great illustration of just how manipulative trailers (and music and editing) can be.

This is another re-skewing of a classic. Who knew Doc could cast such lascivious glances?

http://www.collegehumor.com/movies/1658610/

Quotation of the Day

A fool is someone whose pencil wears out before its eraser does.

~ Marilyn Vos Savant

Bikers and Bodies

This is an amazing story from the AP about the assassination of eight Bandito outlaw biker gang members, whose bodies were found stuffed into cars in a rural part of Ontario.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/04/09/canada.bodies.ap
/index.html

Authorities believe the group assassination was an effort by the Hell's Angels to wipe out their competition. The Angels are tough as hell, the Canadian chapters in particular, and it's doubful the Banditos will recover.

My research into this world when I was writing Troubleshooter was fascinating and unsettling. The book deals with similar events, opening with a daring freeway escape, as my fictional biker gang, the Laughing Sinners, busts their two enforcers out of a US Marshals prison transport van. Why were they busted out? For a number of reasons, but the foremost one is to put a serious dent in their rival outlaw biker gang, the Cholos, to clear out the competetion. Once they're freed, the Laughing Sinners enforcers do more than that....

It's always odd when events from the headlines mirror events in your books, and vice versa. Especially when they're terrible events. You feel like you've anticipated a little tweak in the zeitgeist, but you're none too happy about it.

Palm Springs Bookfest

A great event is coming up on April 22 - the Palm Springs Bookfest. It will be crime-fiction intensive, as Christopher Rice set up wall-to-wall panels and events at the Suspense Pavilion. Myriad authors will be appearing, with a number of highlights, including Chris in conversation with his mother, Anne Rice.

I have a really full day, and I'm looking forward to my events, since many of them are more creative than usual book-festival fare. Two of my SEAL buddies are coming in for the gig, and I've never before done an event or interview with any of my consultants.

My panels are listed below:

11:30AM
RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES!
 
Moderator: CHRISTOPHER RICE
Panelists: ERIC SHAW QUINN, GREGG HURWITZ and THERESA SCHWEGEL
 
Real writers come up with instant storylines based on actual press clippings from that morning's paper, including a discussion of how often real news stories inspire our works and the challenges of turning real events into creative inspiration.

12:30PM
NAVY SEALS -- FACT VS. FICTION
 
Moderator: GREGG HURWITZ
Panelists: CHARLES O'CONNOR Navy SEAL 20 yrs (retired) & ROSS HANGEBRAUCK Navy SEAL 5 yrs (retired)

Never before have Special Operations Forces played such a crucial role in our nation's foreign combat operations. But how do two of these real life heroes feel about being portrayed through fiction? Critically acclaimed thriller writer GREGG HURWITZ will pose that question and more to two of the real-life NAVY SEALS who have acted as his research consultants for several best-selling thrillers.

4:30PM
DALE BROWN IN CONVERSATION WITH GREGG HURWITZ
(Sponsored by INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS INC.)

DALE BROWN has been hailed as "the best military adventure writer in the country"* His 1987 novel Flight of the old Dog is an undisputed classic of contemporary thriller fiction, recently listed as one of the Must Read Thrillers of all time by International Thriller Writers Inc. GREGG HURWITZ is one of the hottest new voices on the thriller scene. His breathtaking series of novels featuring U.S. Marshal Tim Rackley have drawn unanimous praise from authors like James Patterson, Tess Gerritsen, Janet Evanovich and other titans of the genre. See what happens when these two maestros of unrelenting suspense and cutting-edge technology sit down to discuss what goes into their work...and what explodes out of it!

Department of Homeland, er, Producing?

The restriction of official images is troubling indeed. Can we no longer write about, say, the FBI or CIA in ways that aren't strictly flattering? (And who wants to write or read ANYTHING that's strictly flattering about its subjects?).

I'd read some time ago that LAPD was considering copyrighting its name and logo so writers would have to pay a fee or get approval to use them. I'm not sure if that's fact or paranoid urban legend, but the topic seems to be very much in the wind.

I don't have an update on the outcome of Schulman's complaint, so if any of you do, I'd be curious to hear it....
___________
A Los Angeles screenwriter is claiming that the Department of Homeland Security has informed him that he may not use the agency's name "or any of the Department's official visual identities" in the script for his film, Lady Magdalene, despite the fact that the film presents a positive image of the DHS. The writer, J. Neil Schulman, said Tuesday that he had received a notice from Bobbie Faye Ferguson, director of the NHS's office of multimedia, informing him that his "project does not fit within the DHS mission and that it is not something we can participate in." In response, Schulman wrote to Ferguson that he had already received assistance from a special agent of the NHS's air marshal service while he was preparing his screenplay and that the agency's notice to him now represents a violation of his First Amendment rights. "Merely the claim that you have the power to restrict such official images is chilling to the process of writing and producing a movie -- and certainly to an independent film in pre-production with a start date for principal photography only six weeks away," Schulman wrote.

Another Sordid Cult Tale

Yet another fine cult tale, emailed to me from a fan. As they say on the magic box, names have been removed to protect the innocent....

G

Dear Mr Hurwitz,

I enjoyed your book The Program. Good job on nailing those culties

Here's a cute story.

In 1980, or somewhere around there, my sister's blissed out friend talked me into a ____ seminar. I was only 20 or so, and thought it pretty weird from the beginning; hundreds of people jammed into a hotel ballroom; loads of rules about going to the bathroom, too much intimacy with strangers. Still, I stuck it out pretty well until Sunday-- the graduation day. That morning, I'd felt a little sick and then during the training things became dire. I got up during some exercise, confronted the six foot ten inch guards at the door and told them I needed a break. They said no, that breaktime was coming up in forty-five minutes. So I told them if they didn't let me out, I was gonna puke on their shiny shoes.

They let me out.

And they had to keep letting me out about every forty minutes for the next few hours.

Finally the break came. And The Trainer, the big guy, brown-grey hair, ice blue eyes, threads of his slate grey suit creating what looked like the perfect human being. I was nervous as hell in his presence. He looked like a God or something-- his shit so together it was like some cosmic singularity. He took me outside and we sat by a planter of bouganvillas while told me I was disrupting the training and that the reason I was doing it was that I was avoiding something profound and traumatic. The implication was clear. I was way more fucked up than I could even imagine, and worse yet, if I didnt' stop, he was gonna throw me out. I leaned over and puked in the bouganvillas.

I didn't stop, but with the help of my sister and a paper bag, I was able to hide.

The next day, after it was over, I called in sick to work. Later that day my minder-- a handsome plucky blond guy with tragic eyes-- called, trying to get me to drop another six hundred bucks for the next level seminar. I had my checkbook in my hand, all ready to mail off my deposit, when I looked at the calendar. Goddamnit, how long HAD it been since I had a period? Holy Fudd. The puking... it was, it was... morning sickness. I was knocked up, not nuts.
I was in no position to have a kid, and didn't. But you know, all the hassle that ensued, the moral qualms, everything, it was all kind of a relief. It could be taken care of. What couldn't have been taken care of was the fact that a sharp suited trainer had just about convinced me that I was such a psychological wreck that if I didn't proceed with _____, there was now and never was gonna be any hope for me.

Life's funny, ain't it?

Again, thanks for a good read.

Oscars! And the Problems of Hosting...

How many of you watched? If you skipped it, why?

How'd you think John Stuart did?

I think he's a brilliant commentator, but I think desk comedians have a harder time seizing control of the Oscars in all their unruly (ordered?) glory (Letterman wasn't as funny on stage as he is nightly smirking behind his desk). My favorite of recent years was Steve Martin, but I think he was too dry and smart for the average viewer. Chris Rock couldn't quite find his rhythm - he's the best stand-up comedian around, I think (except for maybe Sarah Silverman, whose Jesus is Magic strays so far into hysterical irreverency you can't believe how funny it is), but he couldn't quite nail the format. I saw Rock live a few weeks before his Oscars - he came into a small comedy club - a surprise guest much to the delight (and then horror) of Midwestern tourists - to work out his material, and it was excellent. He was more relaxed - he said he came in to practice not swearing. He failed.

I think the best Oscar MC of recent years is Billy Crystal. No one can compare to his blend of humor, schtick, and dance - he is Mr. Entertainment, and a true performer. It's such an odd skill set that makes the proceedings really soar...

Who's your favorite Oscar host?

Christopher Hitchens on Cartoons and Free Speech

Christopher Hitchens may be a divisive figure, but he's also a brilliant, incisive, dynamic thinker. He never stoops to dogma or peddles ideas under the banner of "common sense." When asked on tour, I regularly name him as one of my favorite writers, though it often draws confused looks from my readers, who are looking for me to name crime-fiction authors. The quality and elegance of his writing are staggering, especially considering that his articles are time-sensitive and written to more intense deadlines than many of us writers face.

For two razor-sharp articles on free speech and the cartoon "debate," check out:

Stand Up For Denmark!

http://www.slate.com/id/2136714/?nav=navoa

And Cartoon Debate

http://www.slate.com/id/2135499/nav/tap2/

Zach Helm

There's a great article in this month's Vanity Fair about screewriter/playwright/director Zach Helm. He and I share an agency - CAA - but more importantly, a professional philosophy. Evidently, Zach's career, while successful, wasn't going where he wanted it to. So he sat down and wrote a Manifesto - the ethics and rules that should govern his creativity. Since he's abided his Manifesto, his career has really taken off.

As I've learned - you have to respect your creativity or it'll get tired of you and move on.

A few points that he emphasized I believe make for important lessons for young writers.

1. Write what interests you. Don't get penned into one genre or field. This year, I've worked on a new thriller novel, a historical sports drama screenplay, and a six-man play that tackles social issues. Each one, oddly, informs the other and allows me to approach all my writing with a freshness that I wouldn't have if I focused on, say, crime fiction alone.
2. When placing your work, don't decide merely based on immediate financial gain. Money works in odd ways - sometimes, if you take more cash up front, it's a short-sighted proposition. Better to place your screenplay with the right producer or director, for example - someone who gets the project and respects you. You'll be happier if you're demanding that your work is treated with respect - and to get that, you have to treat your own work with respect. Plus, you never know when or how something is going to pay off - either in a financial or creative windfall.
3. Don't take crap jobs for money. Rewriting gigs can pay a lot of money in Hollywood, but they can also drain you. Likewise with other projects that sail down the pipeline. The first question should always be: Is this a stimulating, challenging project? When you're focusing on your own writing, why do anything except what is of the highest interest for you? For the money? If you're after that, you'd do much better to go into commercial real estate or investment banking. If you're going to tackle the trials and tribulations of a writing life, follow your passions. Take risks. Go out on limbs. It's a field where - at least for me - playing it safe means creative stagnation.

Peter Benchley

I was quite saddened yesterday to hear that Peter Benchley had died.

http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-main-9-l5&flok=FF-APO-1404&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20060213%2F0343150686.htm&sc=1404

Jaws was the first adult book I read. As a fourth grader, I was drawn in by the cover, which is my favorite of all time. I shoved a chair over to my parents' bookshelf so I could reach the book, which they kept on the top shelf beside Valley of the Horses (which would provide an entirely different kind of education for me a few months later). I absolutely loved Jaws, and went on to read all of Benchley's work. I wrote him a letter saying how much I liked Jaws, Jaws II, The Island and The Deep, and he wrote back thanking me, but saying he couldn't take credit for Jaws II, as he didn't write it. So much for my impressing him with my precociousness. I kept a written correspondence with him through high school and college, telling him I wanted to be a writer, and I sent him an ARC of The Tower when it was published. He wrote me a very kind congratulatory note.

He was a very bright man with an abiding love of the ocean. The water has never been the same....

Sleepless in Seattle

This is the best recut trailer since The Shining one I posted a few months ago (which recut The Shining trailer to make the film appear to be a feel-good family comedy).

Check this out:

http://www.collegehumor.com/movies/1652506/

I never cease being amazed by how much of an impact music and editing have on our emotions. We have very easy buttons to push....