Post-production on True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak has wrapped. The last episodes (9 and 10) will drop very soon. I have heard both and my (admittedly biased opinion) is that they are superb.
If you’ve been waiting to be able to buy the entire audio adaptation of True Detective, the time will be here very, very soon. There has never been a better, more faithful rendition of my work – perhaps not surprising, since I wrote the adaptation myself; but the level of craft and artistry here is stellar.
Take a look at the acting talent involved with True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak. If some of the names don’t ring a bell, the faces likely will.
There’s ordering info at truenoir.co as well.
True Noir was made possible by Mike Bawden, whose enthusiasm for genre storytelling and whose belief in director Robert Meyer Burnett and me has been unfailing. This production exists because of him.
The direction of the actors in the audio studio by Rob Burnett was deft to say the least. I attended most of the recording sessions via Zoom and Rob was generous with allowing my input (as a director myself, I tend to stay out of the way of a director doing my material, but Rob was great about including me in every step of the process). In addition, he meticulously edited the entire series and supervised the audio mix, including sound effects and the use of the outstanding score by Alexander Bornstein. Yes, I wrote it, but True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak represents Rob’s hard work and talent. In many respects, it’s his baby.
I will forever be grateful to Rob (and Mike) for the gift of this production, which – at nearly five hours – is essentially a great Nathan Heller movie…for the ears.
There have been delays. We hadn’t anticipated the Los Angeles fires or that the audio studio we were using would shut down. And, frankly, never having done this before – few if any have attempted something like this, on this scale – we had not anticipated just how long it would take. We won’t make that mistake again.
Among a team any one of whom might be termed an MVP, Co-producer Christine Sheaks assembled the incredible cast, which brings us to Michael Rosenbaum.
You may know Michael from his role as Lex Luthor on the long-running TV series Smallville or his role in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, among many others. He is also the host of Inside of You, an incredibly popular (and justifiably so) YouTube series, on which he interviews other actors of note with skill and disarming ease.
Michael understands Nate Heller, bringing humor and humanity but also, when necessary, the appropriate toughness to his portrayal. I feel blessed to have him playing my signature character.
I must also mention my longtime friend and collaborator Phil Dingeldein, who has also been part of the creative mix, specifically producing and directing the ten-part History Behind the Mystery video series, in which I discuss the actual history behind each episode.
Which brings us to the eventual physical media component of True Noir: The Assassination of Mayor Cermak. As I mentioned here before, a Blu-ray is in the works, which may rate a “Huh?” considering that we’re talking about an audio production. But the sophistication of this audio presentation justifies that (featuring both 2-channel, stereo audio mix and 5.1 surround sound), though the Blu-ray will also include visual components, like the entire History of Mystery series and a lengthy interview with me by director Rob Burnett. A CD of the Alexander Bornstein score is almost certainly going to happen, too.
In the meantime, we are seriously discussing going forward with a second series of True Noir, probably True Crime. I would again script it myself with Rob Burnett directing/editing and Mike Bawden and the whole producing team coming back.
And, I hope, with Michael Rosenbaum as Nathan Heller.
Robert Meyer Burnett toasts the completion of True Noir.
Here is a nice write-up on Law and Order, the 1932 Walter Huston movie that is the first Wyatt Earp flick…and it’s based on a W.R. Burnett novel! Features me and my knowledgeable buddy Heath Holland (of YouTube’s Cereal at Midnight) doing the commentary.
Pre-order it here.
I discuss my six favorite private eye novels, written for The Week magazine. I actually stretch the boundaries by talking about two books that are more strictly crime novels.
M.A.C.
Tags: Interviews, Nate Heller, Nathan Heller, True Detective, True Noir, True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak, True Noir: The Nathan Heller Casebooks
I listened to episodes 9 and 10 of True Noir yesterday evening; a solid conclusion to the production. I’m looking forward to the Blu-ray and I have my fingers crossed for a second series and hopefully more. Thanks for promoting this project from the start – the delays were unfortunate but in the long run they’ll fade from memory.
I’m surprised that no relatively recent private-eye novels made your “top 6” list. I would think that a book starring Parker’s Spenser or Block’s Scudder would qualify (I would nominate Promised Land and Sacred Ginmill, respectively, as specific books in those series). And while I cannot quarrel with an entry involving Nero Wolfe, I don’t think any book in that series tops The Doorbell Rang. Finally, I’ve only read a few Mike Hammer books (and haven’t read One Lonely Night), but, if nothing else, the brilliant last line of I, The Jury puts that one at the top of the list of those that I have read. I think I was 15 when I first read that, and now, 60 years later, I still remember being bowled over by it.
The behind-the-scenes glimpse into the production process is fascinating—especially your approach to balancing creative input while respecting Rob’s directorial space. That kind of trust and teamwork is what makes a project truly shine.
I wanted to stick with classic private eye (and crime). I find THE DOORBELL RANG a trifle overrated and GOLDEN SPIDERS is by far the most hardboiled of the books. Stout’s Wolfe work was initially very much Hammett-inspired. While I understand his popularity and admire how he made the private eye work in a (then) contemporary manner, Robert B. Parker’s Spenser is not a taste I ever acquired. I don’t care for any private eye who smarts off to clients who came in the door, or who have to consign their darker instincts to a darker associate. And his writing is a little flat for me. I’m a bigger fan of Block, though (as I’ve often said here), I have not kept up with current private eye fiction much, preferreing not to be influenced and just do my own thing. I read just enough of it to know what the competition is up to — two or three Spensers, for example. And Block’s Scudder books have never grabbed me as much as his standalones and his “burglar” books. The really big influence I left off was the other Parker — the Richard Stark/Don Westlake one. And, again, that list was my favorites, not my list of “best,” because everybody has their own tastes and opinions, which is how it should be. A novel is the writer plus the reader, and each reader has a different experience.
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