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Four Things

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

I was “tagged” (a term I don’t understand) for this “meme” (a term I also don’t understand). But it seemed like a fun exercise, so I of course cheated and added to it. Here goes:

4 movies you would watch over and over again:

comedies/musicals:

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Start the Revolution Without Me
Phantom of the Paradise
Harvey

dramas/mysteries:

Kiss Me Deadly
Vertigo
Gun Crazy
Anatomy of a Murder

4 places you have lived:

Jefferson Street
Fairacres Drive
Lord Avenue
Fairview Avenue
(all Muscatine Iowa)

4 TV shows you love to watch:

Slings & Arrows
Veronica Mars
Lexx
Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes (UK)
Morse/Lewis
Midsomer Murders
Poirot
Foyle’s War
Little Britain
SCTV
Spooks (MI-5)
Hustle
Leverage
Prisoner
Due South
Dragnet (‘50s)
Star Trek (original)
Sgt. Bilko
Maverick
Fawlty Towers
Perry Mason
Nero Wolfe (A & E)
Crime Story
…is that four yet?

4 places you’ve been on vacation:

England
Italian alps
Hawaii
Nassau

4 of your favorite foods:

Italian
Mexican
Thai
German

4 web sites you visit daily:

Rap Sheet
Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine
Ed Gorman’s blog
If Charlie Parker Were a Gunslinger

4 places you would rather be right now:

on stage playing rock and roll
on a film set directing
in the editing suite working on a film
in my baby’s arms

4 things you want to do before you die:

Get an Edgar
Direct at least five more movies
Complete the Nathan Heller saga
Not die

4 books you wish you could read again for the first time:

The Postman Always Rings Twice
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
The Bad Seed
One Lonely Night

And I’m adding this:

4 favorite bands:

The Beatles
Zombies
Blondie
Weezer

4 favorite male singers:

Bobby Darin
Frank Sinatra
Anthony Newley
Bobby Rydell

4 favorite female singers:

Julie London
Lene Lovich
Kim Wilde
Rachel Sweet

M.A.C.

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On the Horizon

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Several people have mentioned seeing KING OF THE WEEDS listed on Amazon as a book coming out this year — it’s even available for pre-order. How exactly a phantom like this gets into the system, I don’t know. But KING OF THE WEEDS — which is one of the six substantial Mike Hammer manuscripts Mickey Spillane left for me to finish — isn’t even written yet. In fact, of those six Hammer novels, it’s scheduled to be the sixth, as (like GOLIATH BONE) it’s about Hammer in the last days of his career. As I’ve mentioned here, the next Hammer will be the ’60s era THE BIG BANG, published next year. This year I’ll be doing KISS HER GOODBYE, a ’70s Hammer, for 2011 publication. That will be the end of the current contract, so KING OF THE WEEDS isn’t even under contract yet, anywhere.

A number of projects are on the horizon but aren’t quite official yet. Terry Beatty and I are in serious discussions to do a new Ms. Tree graphic novel, which would herald a complete reprinting of the series in uniform format. I am close to signing with DC/Vertigo to do RETURN TO PERDITION as a graphic novel — this would be the last, chronologically, of the saga and a direct sequel to the prose novel ROAD TO PARADISE. Efforts to get ROAD TO PURGATORY made, from my screenplay and with me directing, continue, and are looking favorable. All of these, however, are not “done deals.” Stay tuned.

Jeffrey Goodman and I had a nice response to THE LAST LULLABY in Des Moines this past weekend (the film played through/including June 11 at the Fleur). The Q and A after the weekend screenings was excellent (Jeffrey said he’d been asked questions that no other audiences had thought to ask — i.e., did he have a completion bond?). We had a nice review locally in City View, too. And last week the film was featured at a Brooklyn film fest, marking the picture’s first New York screening.

M.A.C.

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The Little Death

Monday, June 8th, 2009

I have just written a Mike Hammer novel for audio that will be produced this summer in Chicago by producer Carl Amari and stars Stacy Keach himself as Hammer (with a full cast). This is the second of the “NEW ADVENTURES OF MICKEY SPILLANE’S MIKE HAMMER”from Blackstone Audio. It’s called “The Little Death” and will be out in the fall of this year.

This marks several firsts, probably the least of which is me writing a script in radio format. More important is that this will be the first time Keach — who has appeared as Hammer on film more often than any other actor — will be featured in a Hammer story actually based on Spillane material. The sources are the short story “The Night I Died” by Mickey and an unproduced screenplay that I developed under Mickey’s supervision. (Interestingly, “The Night I Died” was an unproduced 1950s radio script I found in Mickey’s files years ago, which he allowed me to short-story-ize for our NAL anthology, PRIVATE EYES.)

In the Audie-nominated first installment of THE NEW ADVENTURES (not written by me), there were two episodes. When I was invited to write the second installment, I asked if we could do one story — a novel for audio. Keach and Amari loved the idea. This will be the new Hammer novel for 2009 (although THE GOLIATH BONE is due in trade paper soon from Harcourt). The next prose novel, THE BIG BANG, will be out in the spring of 2010, and is a “lost” novel from 1964 — truly vintage Spillane.

I’m thrilled about “The Little Death,” as it was my opportunity to bring the Keach TV Hammer more in line with the novels. I promise you will never have seen (or anyway, heard) Keach’s Hammer this tough.

In other news, Crusin’ is performing this Sunday, June 14, in Muscatine, IA. The concert, from 6 pm to 7:30 at the Pearl City Plaza patio (adjacent Elle’s Tea and Coffee), will cover the history of the band. In the event of rain, we will perform inside the Port City Underground restaurant. Food will be available.

M.A.C.

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The Last Lullaby: Showings and Reviews

Monday, June 1st, 2009

The Last Lullaby showings: Des Moines (June 5 – 11), Brooklyn (June 7 – 8), San Jose (June 12 – 18)

THE LAST LULLABY — the film based on the Quarry short story “A Matter of Principal,” and co-written by me — will be showing at the Fleur Cinema in Des Moines from June 5 till June 11. Director Jeffrey Goodman and I will be there for the two evening showings on Friday June 5, and probably on Saturday June 6, as well, doing intros before and Q and A after. This is our last scheduled appearance together in support of the film, and marks the final of the three Iowa bookings.

Jeffrey continues to roll it out slowly and carefully. The film will show at the 6/5-6/14 Brooklyn International Film Festival. Tickets are now on sale at this link. We screen Sunday, June 7th at 9PM and Monday, June 8th at 8PM. Jeffrey will be there for both of our screenings.

The film also plays 6/12-6/18 in San Jose, CA at the Camera Cinemas 3.

The film continues to rack up great reviews. Here’s two of them:

Stark Silvercreek: “A movie that gives the movie industry hope.” (Includes an interview with Jeffrey.)
Steve Rhodes: “New filmmakers should look at it as a paradigm on how movies should be made.”

There’s been some confusion about where the novel THE LAST QUARRY fits in. It was based on my draft of the screenplay and written prior to the shooting of the film, which reflects a draft by another writer plus a polish by me. Call it the Writer’s Cut.

Quarry is continuing to make a remarkable comeback for a character who appeared in an obscure four-paperback series in the mid-’70s. I was always proud of this character, and he remains one of my two favorite characters (Nate Heller being the other).

THE FIRST QUARRY has been nominated for the Best Paperback Novel “Anthony,” presented at the Bouchercon. It’s voted on by con attendees, so go to the con and remember what Al Capone said: vote early and vote often.

Also, THE LAST QUARRY’s magnificent Robert McGinnis cover has been chosen as one of the handful of images adorning a new group of Hard Case Crime t-shirts.


THE LAST QUARRY T-SHIRT

And later this year, look for a new Quarry novel, QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE.

M.A.C.

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