Shooting has started in Chicago on ROAD TO PERDITION!  As of March 5, 2001, the Sam Mendes directed DreamWorks production — based on my graphic novel (drawn by the gifted Richard Piers Rayner) — is in production in the Chicago area.  Shooting will last into June, with a December 2001 release anticipated.  I will visit the set (probably in April) and we will post photos.  The Zanucks are producing this project, hand-picked by Steven Spielberg.

Troma Entertainment is distributing REAL TIME: SIEGE AT LUCAS STREET MARKET.   A few theaters will play the feature, but this is primarily a DVD release.   Many long hours were put into the authoring of the DVD (which I supervised at Conwood studio in Iowa City, where Todd Schoemaker…a veteran of several M.A.C. productions…made the magic).  The REAL TIME DVD is the first 100% multi-angle DVD, with tons of features including commentaries by myself, stars Brinke Stevens and Larry Coven, and our core filmmaking group: Phil Dingeldein, Steven Henke, Greg Ballard and Jeff High.  Even Matt Clemens got into the act, though no one quite knows what he does on any of the movies.  The audio book of the source short story, “Inconvenience Store,” was generously provided by Brilliance, and a Ms. Tree comic book story is also included.  Also audition excerpts, deleted scenes, alternate takes, and on and on.  I don’t think any low-budget indie has done anything this elaborate on DVD.

The new Nate Heller, ANGEL IN BLACK, is in stores now!  The hardcover has received raves from Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist, the latter preferring my take on the Black Dahlia to a certain other author’s.

Jeff Gelb and I are doing a sort of follow-up to Jeff’s HOT BLOOD anthology series (which were erotic horror stories) with FLESH & BLOOD (erotic noir stories).  The first one is out in April from Warner/Mysterious Press — a trade paperback.  Lots of big names — Larry Block, Loren Estleman, Stu Kaminsky, Don Westlake, and many others.

THE PEARL HARBOR MURDERS (starring amateur sleuth Edgar Rice Burroughs), from Berkley Prime Crime, will be out in time for the Memorial Day release of the big Pearl Harbor movie whose coattails I’m riding; and THE MUMMY RETURNS is coming in June.

New projects: I’m working on another Heller, in which he returns to Chicago (at the request of many fans) for some mob crime doings; right now I’m calling it CHICAGO LOWDOWN, but we’ll see.  No famous crime this time — it’s about the Kefauver hearings and the death of Heller’s cop friend, Bill Drury (a real albeit not famous unsolved crime). I hope to do a novelization of ROAD TO PERDITION; I have a John Woo movie novel to write; and the next “disaster” mystery, which takes place on the Lusitania (the Coconut Grove fire entry, which features Eliot Ness, will be done eventually).

Several scripts of mine are getting Hollywood interest  — including JOHNNY DYNAMITE, the rights to which have reverted to me after Disney failed to make it happen, and BLUE CHRISTMAS — and Ms. Tree may…that’s MAY…be heading to TV as a series for a major cable network.

I am also trying to mount another indie this summer, a REAL TIME follow-up with a top-secret subject matter.

Barb has a great collection of short stories out from Five Star — TOO MANY TOMCATS — and several other Five Star anthologies are coming, including MURDER — HIS AND HERS (with stories by both of us, some collaborative) and BLUE CHRISTMAS (gathering the Richard Stone short stories and a few other holiday tales).

Also, watch for A CENTURY OF NOIR edited by Mickey Spillane and myself, and a Mike Hammer anthology with an intro by yours truly.  Plus a Five Star anthology that gathers the previous uncollected Spillane novellas that didn’t make it into TOMORROW I DIE.

It’s been a long time since my son Nate and I have updated the site…and if you peruse the above you’ll know why!

Let me know what you think of ANGEL IN BLACK — I think it’s one of the best, and certainly the darkest, Hellers.  And if you don’t have a DVD player, buy one now — so you can watch REAL TIME!

M.A.C.

    This is a way overdue update — and will be somewhat brief, because I am in the midst of deadlines (the new Heller was due March 1st and as I write this is it’s March 6!).

    A lot has been happening.   First, I must share with you sad news.  I lost my dad on February 23, his 78th birthday.  A very vital man, Dad was — among many other things — a world-class musician.  As an only child, still living in my home town, I have remained close to my parents, and this was hard.  Dad was a wonderful grandpa to Nate, and we’ll feel his absence every day.  Any fan of mine who would like to contribute to my father’s memorial scholarship fund — given yearly to a high school senior planning to be a college music major — can send a check made out to the Max A. Collins Sr. Music Scholarship, care of M.A.C. Productions, 301 Fairview Avenue, Muscatine, Iowa 52761.

In January, we shot a new movie — a radically different feature, and I’m proud to say a real innovation.  I will share the details with you later, but you can get an advance view on the page Nate has devoted to REAL TIME: SIEGE AT LUCAS STREET MARKET.  I am in postproduction right now, working with the usual suspects, including Phil Dingeldein editing on the Avid, Greg Ballard on sound design, plus our new producer, Jeff High.  Brinke Stevens, Mike Cornelison and Rachel Lemieux star with Larry Coven in support, and some incredible new talent.  (It’s based on a Ms. Tree short story but the character does not appear in the screenplay, though Brinke plays a very Ms. Tree-like character.) THE HINDENBURG MURDERS will be out soon, as will U-571, a movie tie-in novel (an exciting WW2 submarine melodrama). Already in print is MOURN THE LIVING.  This was the first Nolan novel, written around ’69, when I was in college.  It was published in serialized form in the fanzine HARDBOILED, but this marks its first book publication.  Some of the critics thought it should have stayed in my trunk, but at least one rated as a solid entry.  I figured Nolan fans would like to have it in book form.  This is from Five Star, who also published (last year) the first hardcover edition of BUTCHER’S DOZEN. There are currently four copies still available of the MYSTERY SCENE MOVIE GUIDE. Also, if you have a DVD player, don’t forget to pick up MOMMY and MOMMY’S DAY (available on line from numerous sources).  These are low-priced definitive editions of the two features. I’ve been writing some columns for Hollywood.com, so you may wish to check out that first-rate site.  And I’m still doing a column for ASIAN CULT CINEMA magazine. The new Heller, in progress, is called DARK ANGEL, wherein Nate solves the Black Dahlia murder…no kidding! And wait till you see REAL TIME! M.A.C.

Dear F.O.M.A.C. (Fans/friends/family of Max Allan Collins) —

Sorry for the delay between installments, but it’s been a particularly frantic year, so far.  (Two F.O.M.A.C. missives have appeared on the web site, which is likely to become more and more F.O.M.A.C.’s home — check www.muscanet.com/~phoenix).

Barb and I are about to go out on mutual book tour, in support of REGENERATION, our first collaborative novel, which will be out in October.   REGENERATION has a nifty premise (Barb’s): successful ad agency exec Joyce Lackey loses her youth, her job and her will to live — until a corporate headhunting agency called X-Gen offers her a second chance via plastic surgery, wonder drugs and retraining.   It’s a Leisure Books paperback original, marketed as “Horror” but really psychological suspense, a black comedy about the Baby Boomers pitted against Generation X.

And I’ll be signing the new Heller, MAJIC MAN (a Dutton hardcover), out in September — starred review from Publisher’s Weekly!  This is the so-called “X-Files” Heller, in which Nate solves the enigma of Roswell.   It’s also something of a sequel to FLYING BLIND, as it picks up on Nate’s relationship with troubled Secretary of Defense James Forrestal.  And FLYING BLIND is out, right now, in mass-market paperback reprint.  Both MAJIC MAN and FLYING BLIND share a new cover format, thanks to the efforts of my Signet editor, Joe Pittman — the first time we’ve had a uniform look for the Hellers.

For various reasons, there will not be a new Heller in 2000 — there will be in 2001 — so Signet is bringing out STOLEN AWAY in paperback reprint (in this new uniform edition).  This is the out-of-print Heller most sought after (with the possible exceptions of the first two, TRUE DETECTIVE and TRUE CRIME).

Next year, look for THE HINDENBURG MURDERS (a follow-up…not sequel…to THE TITANIC MURDERS) and U-571, a movie tie-in about WW2 submarine warfare.

A third “disaster” book for Berkley Prime Crime will be my next project (subject under wraps at the moment) and then the next Heller, which will probably be about the Loeb and Leopold case.  Also, Barb and I are doing BOMBSHELL, our second collaborative novel.

My documentary “Mike Hammer’s Mickey Spillane” was invited by Adrian Wootton of the British Film Institute for a special screening at the National Film Theatre in London.  The last week of July, Mickey (and his wife Jane) were special guests of the B.F.I., as were Barb and I, and several Spillane films were screened, including a rare 3-D print of “I, the Jury” (1953).  It was an incredible experience, and a great honor.  The production was also honored with an Award of Excellence for Best TV Program by the Iowa Motion Picture Association.  (The documentary has not been sold — we’re just beginning to explore markets.  Stayed tuned.)

The two MOMMY features are on DVD!  MOMMY and MOMMY’S DAY have just been released by the Roan Group, letterboxed and including commentary tracks, preview trailers and my two-part video interview of star Patty  McCormack.  The features themselves look beautiful, at least to their daddy, as superior to the laserdisc as the laser was to VHS.

The MOMMY DVDs are available at many on-line locations (including my friends at Laserdisc Division, who will sell the $19.95 discs to you at a whopping 30% discount  — www.laserdiscdivision.com, or order by phone at 1-800-320-8650).  You can also check such retailers as Virgin and Tower, but it may be a while before the discs can be found in Suncoast and Best Buy.

Because of deadlines, our tour this year is limited to the midwest; however, I’ve been invited to the Bouchercon in Milwaukee (Oct. 1 through 3) as Guest of Honor, a real thrill for me…and I hope to see readers from all around the country, there.  My Spillane documentary will be shown, and my band Crusin’ will play for a dance.

Crusin’ has become slightly more active of late, and has a new, terrific member — Andy Landers, on vocals and rhythm guitar.

And M.A.C. Productions is accepting ADVANCE ORDERS for our new CD, “Crusin’ a.k.a. Daybreakers,” a “best of” compilation from Beat Brothers Records of material never before on CD, from 1967’s infamous “Psychedelic Siren” to the songs the band recorded for the MOMMY movies in the ’90s.  Over twenty songs, spanning 30 years of M.A.C. garage band rock.  $12 POSTPAID before November 1, by which time the first batch of CDs will be shipped ($15 thereafter — we should have copies for Bouchercon and the book tour.)

My “other” band, Seduction of the Innocent, played at San Diego Con on September 14 to an appreciate crowd — first time we’ve played since ’94!   Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer, Steve Leialoha and Chris Christensen were all present and rockin’; Beat Brothers Records may release a live CD of the event.

Finally, an instant collector’s item to share with the F.O.M.A.C. list: you may recall me mentioning THE MYSTERY SCENE MOVIE GUIDE, a collection of my ten-years of “Mystery Seen” columns plus other movie-related ruminations.   It was finally published by Borgo Press, but the publisher closed its doors shortly thereafter and only a miniscule 100 copies were printed (as a trade paperback — the announced hardcover never happened). It will probably never be reprinted, so this is automatically my rarest book.  I bought the remaining 60 copies and am offering signed copies at the original price: $21.50 POSTPAID.

Another low-budget movie is in the works (actually, two!) but it’s too early to discuss.  Also, both ROAD TO PERDITION and JOHNNY DYNAMITE have been optioned by bigtime Hollywood movie studios…more on that when I know more!

M.A.C.

My apologies for the long delay in posting an update — both Nate (my son Nate, that is — not Nate Heller) and I  — have been incredibly busy these last few months.   We’re going to try to keep the site more current.

Sad news — a few months ago, we lost our friend Del Close — who provided such a memorable cameo as the warden in MOMMY 2: MOMMY’S DAY.   Del held court in his hospital room — the likes of Bill Murray and Harold Ramis came calling — and word is his before-the-fact wake was recorded for Comedy Central!   A unique individual, Del, and so very influential — he thought up the idea of SCTV, for example, and was the comedy guru to Mike Meyers, among many others.  It’s a bittersweet honor that Del — who was a hardcore Nate Heller fan — made his last screen appearance in our film.

Happier news — Barb and I just returned from London, where my documentary, MIKE HAMMER’S MICKEY SPILLANE, was the centerpiece of a Mickey Spillane film retrospective at the National Film Theatre on the South Bank of the Thames!   Mickey and his wife Jane came along, and Mickey and I were interviewed before a capacity crowd by Adrian Wooton, the  distinguished but very amiable head of the London Film Festival.  The documentary was extremely well-received, and we saw pristine 35mm prints of THE GIRL HUNTERS (in Cinemascope!) and, for the first time since 1953, I, THE JURY in 3-D!!!MIKE HAMMER’S MICKEY SPILLANE was earlier honored (last December) at Noir in Festival in Courmayeur, Italy — which is where Adrian saw the documentary, and invited us to show it in London.  The American premiere was at the University of Iowa Library, another nice honor, and Mickey and Jane came for that, as well.  In addition, the documentary won the Award of Excellence for Best Entertainment Programming at the 1999 Iowa Motion Picture Awards in May.

We do not have a sale yet, but we have just — at this writing — gone out to market with the 48-minute production.  Cary Roan — whose Roan Group has shifted from laser disc to DVD — is interested in putting the documentary out on DVD.  Stay tuned!

Speaking of the Roan Group and DVD, just last month I supervised the authoring of both MOMMY and MOMMY 2: MOMMY’S DAY for their Roan Group DVD release.  These will be the ultimate homevideo presentation of the two features, jampacked with extras: on camera interviews with Patty McCormack, commentary track, preview trailers — and will retail for only $19.95 each (that means they will probably be available many places at around $14.95 each).  The quality far exceeds the laser discs, and completely blows away any VHS tape.  I am really thrilled with this presentation.  Look for them soon — probably in September ’99!

I also supervised the authoring of a box set of the 1940s DICK TRACY features for the Roan Group.  (The authoring is being done in Iowa City by Conwood Enterprises — several MOMMY family crew members work there!)  I provided commentary tracks that include the inside skinny on my experiences as the writer of DICK TRACY, including consulting on the Warren Beatty movie.  This will be another jampacked package, the ultimate version of these fun ’40s movies.  They should be out in September, also.

So far this year, I’ve written two novels — THE HINDENBURG MURDERS, a follow-up (not sequel!) to THE TITANIC MURDERS, for Berkley Prime Crime; and U-571, a movie tie for Avon and MCA.  I don’t have pub dates on either of these yet.  HINDENBURG features the creator of the Saint, Leslie Charteris, as its amateur sleuth and, unlike TITANIC, the murder mystery is tied directly to the disaster itself.  U-571 is a World War II submarine tale, a tense thriller that should make a good movie (and I know it made a good book!).
Available right now is an instant collector’s item — THE MYSTERY SCENE MOVIE GUIDE, which gathers all of my movie columns (and more material on film) into one, alphabetized “guide.”  This was announced several years and just emerged from Borgo Press in a very weird way: it was the last title Borgo published before closing their doors, and they did a short, trial print run of only 100 copies!   I have acquired the remaining 60 copies.  This trade paperback (signed) costs $21.50 postpaid from M.A.C. Productions, 301 Fairview Avenue, Muscatine, Iowa 52761.   This is destined to be my rarest book!  Only 100 copies exist!  You have been warned.

Barb and I will be out touring to support the new Nate Heller, MAJIC MAN, and our first book together, REGENERATION, in October.  We’re at the moment still putting together our schedule (it’s limited to the midwest this time around).  But it will be posted.

MAJIC MAN is a hardcover from Dutton — the “Roswell” Heller.  REGENERATION is a psychological suspense paperback from Leisure Books, who did the two MOMMY novels.  Barb and I are working on our second novel together, BOMBSHELL, for St. Martin’s Press.

In October, I will be Guest of Honor at Bouchercon (SEE LINK) and my band CRUSIN’ will be playing!  By that time we should have a limited edition CD out, a “best of” spanning over 30 years of garage band rock from M.A.C.!  The CD will include the CRUSIN’ songs from the MOMMY movies.  CRUSIN’ has been fairly active lately, with a new member — the incredibly gifted Andy Landers — so look for another all-new material CD within a year or so.  And SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT — with my pals Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer, Chris Christensen and Steve Leialoha — are appearing in August at the San Diego Comic Con!  First time since 1994….

Be sure to look for MAJIC MAN and REGENERATION!

Till next time —

M.A.C.

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