Archive for the ‘Message from M.A.C.’ Category

Not Writing the Screenplay & Re-Reading the Proofs

Tuesday, April 15th, 2025

All ten episodes of True Noir: The Assassination of Mayor Cermak should be available by a week from now (if not sooner) in various formats, including 5.1 stereo.

True Noir Episode 10 Banner

Director Robert Meyer Burnett has done a masterful job directing an incredible cast; he was also the editor and supervised the elaborate mix of sound effects and music.

A Blu-ray of the production will follow, including all ten episodes of my “History Behind the Mystery,” in which I talk about the real history behind each episode and a lot more. There’s also a lengthy interview Rob did with me before the production began (I had literally finished the Blue Christmas shoot the night before!). It will include a version of the entire production assembled into one “listen.”

This is no standard audio production. The budget was half a million dollars. If you support it, a second one will go into production and we’ll be on our way to a Nate Heller movie and possibly TV series. With the talented group that has come together for this unique production, great things are in the offing.

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I’m going to discuss something that requires me to be a little circumspect – not generally my best quality. It has to do with a movie script (not written by me) for a production relating to one of my properties.

Despite the fact that I have written and directed seven features, written three more produced features (I’m in the WGA), and scripted an episode of the Quarry TV series on Cinemax, a show based on my own book series), I have rarely been invited to a have a crack at the script by the Hollywood folks who have optioned/bought my material. The reasons for this are many and varied. For one thing, most of my self-produced movies have been indies, some with micro-budgets.

Real Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market, Eliot Ness: an Untouchable Life and Blue Christmas were each at around a $10,000 budget with a lot of professional talent volunteering their participation in let’s-put-on-a-show fashion. In a world where twenty million is considered a low-budget, this makes the reluctance to use me on the screenplay at least understandable. My suggestion, for example, that I’d like to have a pass at Road to Perdition myself was met with shocked (and perhaps amused) surprise. That was the most naive thing the producers had ever heard.

Though few filmgoers even know the name of a screenwriter, much less have a favorite one, a big-time feature is essentially required to have a screenwriter who’s already had at least one major production made. (How those writers got their first assignment is a mystery none of my detective characters could solve.) This comes in part from the need to have a list of talent in all major slots (including screenwriter) that look good in a package. Money has to be raised. Studio execs need convincing. I get that. What I don’t get is why “We can get the person who created Road to Perdition to write the movie version” was such a laughable proposition.

It’s true that a good novelist, even somebody who’s written a critically acclaimed bestseller, isn’t necessarily an accomplished screenwriter. In fact some novelists downright stink at scripting. This largely comes from the two different skill sets of a novelist and screenwriter. Novelists write the interior of a story and screenwriters the exterior. So it’s not entirely a mystery why a producer might avoid using the source creator to write the script.

In my case, however, I have a track record of screenwriting that includes primetime movies on HBO and Lifetime, and a Cinemax series. My little regional movies have all won awards and their share of good reviews (and some bad ones – that comes with it).

This is not to say, “Boo hoo.” You can’t have a fifty-plus year writing career and come away thinking life is fair, even if you’re Stephen King. I often say to Barb, when I’ve written a book or had one optioned for the movies or television, “Well, I’ve got another ticket in the lottery.” Luck does seem to play as major a role as hard work and talent. I get that.

Why is this on my mind?

Well, I recently sat down with a script based on one of my properties, a script written by a guy who probably got half a million bucks at least to do so (my option was barely five figures). And I’m told the producers really like the script. As a courtesy more than anything, I was shown the script and encouraged to offer my notes.

The script had merit. But it also had a lot wrong with it. It did all kinds of things that even a smalltime screenwriter like me would know are wrong. Beginner shit. For example, using two lines of dialogue when one carries it. For example, following the action climax with fifteen minutes of tying up loose ends in dialogue. That kind of thing. What strikes me as remedial stuff.

After nineteen pages of handwritten notes, I typed them up as thirteen double-spaced pages. And then I had to sit and think about it. As a practical matter, since I make a big payday if the movie gets made, I should not bother. Let Hollywood be Hollywood. In a very real way, the last person they want to hear from is the source writer. I am trying to help, trying to make sure my property has been turned into a script that is not only relatively faithful to my work, but has a shot at pleasing audiences and being a success. But the result of my well-intended criticism might be (a) that I am viewed as just a troublemaker, or (b) (and this is worse) that the producers will realize the script needs work and the project slides into Development Hell.

Understand something: I could fix this script in a day. Maybe an afternoon. But I have as much chance of being granted that opportunity as I would to become the lead actor in the picture. And the smart thing to do would be not to send in my notes, but just say to them, “Wow, what a terrific script.”

This kind of frustration, this kind of reality, has accompanied me throughout my long career…and probably through most of the careers of the vast majority of your favorite fiction writers. It is why, despite a love for movies and moviemaking at least equal to my love for reading and writing books, I did not go West, Young Man (well I was young once). I chose books over movies because I could get a book written and published, and getting a movie made is really, really tough. Tough to get producers to give you a shot, tough to get a story told the way you want it. Tough not to get your heart broken.

After my run writing the Dick Tracy comic strip came to an end after fifteen fortunate years, I allowed myself to get pulled into indie moviemaking. And I loved it. About a dozen years of my career were devoted to that, and after a twenty-plus year break, I’ve returned to it in my waning days just to have the experience again – to bask in the collaborative nature of filmmaking. As a writer, I’ve often sought out collaborators – great people like Terry Beatty, Matthew Clemens, Dave Thomas and of course Barbara Collins – because synergy only happens when more than one factor comes into play. Fiction writing is a lonely trade whereas movie-making is lively affair, in my fortunate case always involving some pretty wonderful artisans.

I have no regrets being mostly a writer of books, short stories and comics. And no regrets, either, despite some bumps, about writing and sometimes directing movies in the world of indies.

But when I read something based on my work that I was not chosen to adapt myself, something that seems sub-par, I am nonetheless frustrated.

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Recently I did a slight revision on my afterword to the forthcoming Return of the Maltese Falcon. Where normally an advance look at the first chapter might have been used as a promotional teaser, something had to substitute, because the public-domain nature of the original novel won’t kick in until my sequel is published next year. So advance promo couldn’t use any of my novel itself – we’d be in violation of the original copyright.

My editor at Hard Case Crime, Charles Ardai, is something of a wonder. Normally when you turn a manuscript in, it takes an editor months or at least weeks to get you the line-edited manuscript to go over. Charles gets back to you the next day, or if he takes two or three days, he apologizes for the delay. Then he has the book typeset in another day (he does this himself) and provides galley proofs, and to say this is unusual is an understatement.

It’s very cool to have the process go this quickly. Writers like the feeling when a book has “gone to bed.”

But when I worked on transforming the afterword of the Falcon novel into a promotional piece, I found a few tweaks I wanted to make. I did so, then asked Charles if I could read the galley proofs of the entire novel again. I had made corrections previously, so this seemed an exercise in fussiness. But I really want this novel to represent me at the top of my game. And following in the footsteps of a genius writer as precise as Dashiell Hammett is a sort of suicide note.

Charles allowed me to go through the book again, and I went into the process figuring I’d find a few pages – one or two or three – spotting a typo here, an ungainly repetition of words there, or just sentences that could use a minor tweak.

I had thirty pages of pages with corrections by the end of the process.

What did I learn? I didn’t exactly learn anything I didn’t already know, but it confirmed my belief that a writer needs to do the galley proofs several months at least after turning the book in. You need distance, and a quick turnaround doesn’t give you that.

Routinely, in going over galley proofs, I run into an instance or two where I have no idea what I was trying to say, no idea what I meant with something or other. When I was caught up in the state of writing, those things were crystal clear to me. A few months later, whaaaa???

So my new policy with Hard Case Crime is to do the galley proofs as quickly as my editor would like…and if time allows, have another hard look at them.

M.A.C.

True Noir – It’s a Wrap!…With More to Come

Tuesday, April 8th, 2025

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.
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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.

A Quarry Discussion Plus a Book Giveaway!

Tuesday, April 1st, 2025

It’s book giveaway time, with the new trade paperback edition from Hard Case Crime of The Last Quarry on offer to the first ten of you who ask for it.

As usual, if you’re interested, you write me directly at macphilms@hotmail.com. If you receive a copy, you agree to write a review at Amazon and/or Barnes & Noble, and/or your own (or someone else’s) blog. If you hate the book, you’re relieved of this obligation. Mixed reviews are fine, and only mildly resented. USA only, due to postal restrictions. Be sure to include your snail-mail address.

This trade paperback includes two of the four Quarry short stories as in-the-back-of-the-book bonuses: “Guest Services” and “Quarry’s Luck.” The other two short stories, “A Matter of Principal” and the fourth (the name of which escapes me – it appeared in The Strand) [“Quarry’s Gamble”, The Strand #52 — Nate] were swallowed up in the novels for use in The Last Quarry and Quarry’s Climax respectively.

The cover of this new book is particularly handsome. It’s by the great Robert McGinnis, one of the premiere paperback cover artists of the golden age of noir paperback originals and the guy who did some of the most iconic James Bond movie posters. I’ve told the story frequently, but I’ll go into it briefly here for you newer comers.

When Charles Ardai started up Hard Case Crime, I was one of the authors he approached (most of the others were dead, so it was their estates Charles approached). He did a reprint (in one volume) of the first two Nolan novels (Bait Money and Blood Money) called Two for the Money. He came back for more reprints and I said I’d rather do an original, even if it was just for reprint-level money. I believe he at first wanted a new Nolan, but I preferred doing a Quarry, the character having always been one of my favorites, and the series one I thought should have lasted and received more recognition.

The final negotiating point between Charles and me was my saying essentially, “I’ll do the novel if you get me a McGinnis cover.” And I’ll be damned if he didn’t.

At this point I’d written one more Quarry novel (Primary Target, aka Quarry’s Vote) in the wake of the initial Nate Heller success, and a nifty little Quarry short film that was burning up the festival circuit. I used that film in an anthology of my other short films as well as the Spillane documentary; this was called Shades of Noir, and the original paperback of The Last Quarry was sort of the movie tie-in to that boxed set of DVD’s.

Quarry was inspired by three things – well, two people and one thing. The thing was the Parker series by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake) that I loved then and love now; and Nolan was my direct take on Parker, humanizing him with a young sidekick. But I always thought there was a cop-out nature to that series, and my own – Parker was a thief and when he was forced to kill somebody, that somebody was another bad guy. Same was pretty much true of Nolan. It occurred to me nobody had really done this kind of novel – a “crook book” where the heroic protagonist (okay, anti-heroic) was a hitman. I wanted the reader to have to deal with the point of view character being, unapologetically, a hired killer.

I did not have a series in mind but did leave the door open for a follow-up novel or two. (Nolan had not been conceived as a series either, and even died in the original draft of Bait Money.)

The two people impacting the creation of Quarry were Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in the European Theater in World War Two, and later a movie star, mostly in westerns. I’d read enough about him to know he had been traumatized – had PTSD, though nobody was calling it that yet – which I found interesting. A normal kid who became a cold-blooded killer (of the enemy, but that counts).

The other inspiration was Jon McRae, a high school pal of mine who went on to several very bloody tours in Vietnam. Unlike some friends of mine, he came home recognizably his eccentric self, but he was nonetheless clearly traumatized by what were then still ongoing experiences. To give you the idea, he was the machine gunner in the tail of a rescue ‘copter.

Stir my Mickey Spillane obsession into the mix, and my admiration for “Richard Stark,” and you have Quarry. I was approached by Berkley Books to do three more novels about him and snapped up the chance. The subsequent three novels were increasingly violent and black humor-tinged. I was, frankly, worried about the direction they were taking – not the four books I’d done, but what the fifth book might be, and any future ones. I feared I’d gone down a road of having to top myself with some terrible thing Quarry did toward the end of a given novel – the basic idea having been to lure the reader into accepting Quarry as a narrator and even identifying with him, then getting slammed with something awful he does, and making readers question their own ease in going along with Quarry, to accept him as a “hero.”

That became no problem when Berkley Books asked for no further Quarry entries.

Over the years, however, I had more mail about Quarry than any other character of mine (pre-Heller). That, and my feeling that Quarry was an original creation, served poorly by the original publisher, made the series an itch that called out for scratching.

So when Charles gave me the opportunity to write The Last Quarry, an opportunity to answer whatever-happened-to-Quarry and wrap up the series, I grabbed it. When the book became a surprise success, both in terms of sales and reviews, this old war horse didn’t have to hear the bell ring twice. I was off and running with The First Quarry and my series of novels about the missing years in the character’s life between already written books.

Series have a way of knowing when they are either over or evolving, and Quarry is no exception. Almost from the start, the concept of Quarry evolved into him using the list of his dead Broker (murdered by Quarry) to approach targeted victims and taking out assassins…a kind of prolonged metaphorical self-suicide…which eclipsed the hitman aspect. Some of the flashback books depict Quarry in his hitman years, but the initial novel (The Broker aka Quarry) is essentially his last job before his transition to the “list” approach.

Killing Quarry emerged from somewhere in my subconscious to conclude the “list” cycle. The next book, Quarry’s Blood, in part returned to hitman days and then mostly was about Quarry at a much older age – essentially mine, maybe a couple of years younger – and I found that interesting enough to pick that up again in the more recent Quarry’s Return.

Now I will soon be embarking on Quarry’s Reunion, which will almost certainly be another of the Quarry-in-old-age novels. I had promised a while back that any further novels would revert to the “list” days, most likely; but if you’re expecting consistency from me, it’s only to be found in my ability to write readable books.

I realize much of what I’ve just shared is already known to some of you – maybe many of you – but it seemed like returning to the evolution of this series was appropriate with a Last Quarry book giveaway.

Here’s another story you may have already heard from me. I was so thrilled with McGinnis cover to The Last Quarry that I coaxed the artist’s phone number out of Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai. I called Bob McGinnis and told him what a career high it was for me to have a cover by him on a novel of mine. I was undoubtedly effusive and he took my fannish enthusiasm with grace. Then he asked me if I’d like the original art of the cover. That threw me, because I was next expecting him to offer it to me at a price I could not afford.

But I could afford it, all right. All he wanted was my address to send me the art.

It hangs near my desk now, an incredible reminder of how lucky I’ve been to have this career of mine, getting everything I ever wanted out of it (except getting rich). I have four other original covers from Quarry novels on my walls, by various artists, and all of those I did find a way to buy. One I particularly like, The Wrong Quarry painted by Tyler Jacobson, hangs near my desk, as well. Not all the covers (and I like them all) for Quarry novels have depicted him. But the ones that do that also match the image in my mind’s eye are the McGinnis and Jacobson ones.

When I’m asked who my favorite is among the heroes (and heroines) of my various book and comics series, it always comes down to Quarry and Nate Heller. Don’t ask me to choose between them, because they are both me.

* * *

Here is a particularly good YouTube video about the film version of Road to Perdition, provided to me by Terry Beatty himself.

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Here is info and pre-ordering for Law and Order, the 1932 Wyatt Earp movie starring Walter Huston and Harry Carey derived from the hard-to-find 1930 W.R. Burnett novel. This has the commentary by me and the great Heath Holland of Cereal at Midnight, a recording I mentioned last week that I was about to do.

It’s a terrific movie. Don’t miss it.

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I also teased last week about working on a screenplay. I can’t (or anyway won’t) give any details, but I’ve just completed my first Nathan Heller feature film screenplay, which will tie in with True Noir, the ten-episode audio adaptation of True Detective written by me and directed by Robert Meyer Burnett. The producers include Mike Bawden, Phil Dingeldein and Christine Sheaks.

This screenplay is not an adaptation of True Detective, however – it’s from another published work in the series. It’s a speculative effort but one that I think has a good shot at paying off. The only previous Heller screenplay I wrote was the pilot episode for FX of a Stolen Away mini-series that never happened (I did, however, get paid).

Speaking of True Noir, the last two episodes will be dropping soon. Then you can order it all at once. The almost five-hour production, starring Michael Rosenbaum as Nate Heller, will eventually be available on Blu-ray. A Blu-ray of an audio? Yes! This production with its incredible cast (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32507868/) will be on a disc that will also have all ten episodes of my History Behind the Mystery series (one per episode of the audio production) and a lengthy interview with me by Rob Burnett. A book of my ten scripts will also be available around the same time.

If this audio production is successful, our next productions of True Noir movies-for-the-mind will be the other two books in the Frank Nitti Trilogy, True Crime and The Million-Dollar Wound.

You can help make that happen, if you haven’t already, by going to truenoir.co and buying the entire ten-episode series for a modest $29.95.

Eventually there will be a soundtrack CD available of the excellent Alexander Bornstein score.

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You may have already seen this nice little article about Ms. Tree, but it’s worth another look, anyway, particularly in the wake of the recent publication of the sixth and final volume of the archival series from Titan, Ms. Tree: Fallen Tree.

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The Quarry movie, The Last Lullaby, is available on YouTube now. Tom Sizemore is “Price” (aka Quarry). I wrote the first drafts of the script and did a final punch-up, but another writer wrote a draft, too…so it’s not pure Quarry, but it’s pretty good.

M.A.C.

New Nathan Heller and Mike Hammer…and Blue Xmas on Tubi!

Tuesday, March 11th, 2025

There’s a new Nathan Heller book you may not have heard about. The title in fact is Nathan Heller, and it’s an 85-page novel-by-novel account of me interviewing Mr. Heller. Anyone interested in the Heller novels will want to read this, and will surely get a kick out of it.

It’s available in three forms – a paperback at $8.95 (such a deal!) and signed/numbered at $50 and signed/lettered at $100. Nathan Heller is the latest in a series of profiles of mystery fiction detectives selected by Otto Penzler and published by Mysterious Press. Among the others in this series are Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, Michael Connelly’s Hieronymous Bosch, Jeff Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme and Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse, among many other celebrated authors and sleuths in this unique series.

The format varies among these profiles, but I chose to interview Nate Heller, the conceit being these are excerpts of interviews with him I recorded over the years to help me ghost-write his memoirs.

I’m grateful to Otto Penzler for giving Nate Heller and me a place on this impressive list. Otto is a key figure in the mystery trade – he’s an editor, publisher and a pioneer in the mystery book store field. He edited and published the first three Mike Hammer novels by me working from Mickey’s material-in-progress (The Goliath Bone, The Big Bang and Kiss Her Goodbye), as well as the Spillane/Collins Mike Hammer short story collection, A Long Time Dead.

You can get Nathan Heller by Max Allan Collins right here.

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Hardcover:
E-Book: Amazon Google Play Nook Kobo iTunes

Digital Audiobook: Google PlayNook Kobo iTunes
Audio MP3 CD:
Audio CD:

And as far as Mike Hammer is concerned, the final novel in the series was just published by Titan Books. Baby, It’s Murder can be ordered from the usual suspects, and the audio book read by the great Stefan Rudnicki is available at Audible and other venues for audio books.

Stefan, who also reads the Quarry novels (and does a bang-up job of it) took over after Stacy Keach stepped down after a long run.

For those of you who prefer a physical media version of Baby, It’s Murder, and not an audio download, there’s always the book itself using the audio book option at Amazon.

Speaking of Baby, It’s Murder – the concluding Mike Hammer novel – Borg has reviewed it very generously here.

And in case you missed it, here’s the splendid Kirkus review of Baby, It’s Murder.

* * *

By the time you read this, the eighth episode of True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak should have dropped. We are closing in on the finish. Director Rob Burnett has edited chapters nine and ten, with only the final mix ahead.

Rob has done an incredible job on this project, serving as director, editor, and producer. We are discussing other projects in the True Noir series including more of our fully immersive adaptations of the Heller novels, with True Crime and The Million-Dollar Wound the likely candidates. We are discussing a Nate Heller movie, as well. Early days on that, but I’ll be scripting it very soon, which is the first step.

* * *

Many thanks to all of you who left birthday wishes either here at F.O.M.A.C. or at the various Facebook sites where I post my weekly update/blog. I tried to answer or at least “like” all of those kind wishes, but frankly the number was too great. I ran out of steam before all of you did.

But my thanks are no less sincere. I seem to have lost only one reader (at least one who was vocal) after I posted a mildly political meme last time. I have no intention of getting political here, but sometimes enough is just enough.

Still, I want to keep this a politics-free zone. Early on I got vocal on Facebook and lost some friends or at least damaged some friendships. Social media has not improved our lives, and certainly has damaged our civility.

* * *

With my buddy Heath Holland of Cereal at Midnight I’ve done a show about some of my favorite comedy movies. It’s right here.

Finally, if you never got around to watching Blue Christmas last year, or buying the DVD or Blu-ray, it’s free on Tubi starting today, March 10. Check it out here.

M.A.C.