In the meantime, watch one of the greatest documentaries of this year, “Abducted in Plain Sight.” ​

Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog post. 
 
A Hooker’s Praise: The Ballad of Wiley Bowman Pt 2
 
Decades ago, I was at a strip club. As our party filed in, my bachelor party compatriots were immediately greeted with seductive compliments in hopes of being lured off into the back room for expensive table dances. The practical stripper who approached me, looked me over thoroughly and, after careful contemplation, could only manage to come up with, “Nice glasses.” 
What can I say? I’m a sucker for complements, whenever I am lucky enough to stumble upon one.
 
The call came after work. I was in downtown Portland coffee shop and the voice on the other end of the line was laid back, confident, smooth as a perfectly aged scotch and extremely complimentary. His name was Wiley Bowman Jr and he promptly reported that during his reading of my script, he laughed so hard that he had to immediately talk to the writer. Needless to say, it had been an extremely long time since I had received a literary compliment and, like the nice glasses line (which happened to work by the way), I had been smitten with the promise of a revived career. We chatted for a several minutes, Wiley reporting that he was casting another project but would get back to me soon. 
 
Things happened rather quickly from here. A deal memo was signed, and Wiley started assembling his crew. Keep in mind, all signed had at least one foot into the business we call show and knew a thing or two about getting movies made. There was a Producer, a Director of Photography and a Stunt Coordinator. While not heavyweights in the industry, these were individuals with produced work and solid resumes. 
 
WARNING #1 No money had exchanged hands, and all of the major players in this story were waiting until funding had been secured. 
 
In a matter of couple months, several other people signed on and a series of auditions were announced. These auditions took place in LA and were videotaped for prosperity. I still have a copy. Some of the faces of the hopefuls are even recognizable from film and television (twenty years ago). But why the hell shouldn’t they be? We were a speeding train, on the fast-track of successful independent filmmaking. How could we not succeed?
 
Keep in mind, all this happened without a single penny. Wiley believed he could round up his crew, his supporting cast and lure some upper grade talent from the major agencies and then proceed and get all the funding he needed. From where? Only he seemed to know. But he was confident as hell about it. So, there’s that.  
 
In going over the research material for this blog, I am struck by how far Wiley got with his plan. Not only did he have a crew and some of the cast, he also had a budget worked out. 
 
If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. But I wanted this so bad, I refused to look at the whole situation realistically. Independent filmmaking is guerilla anyway. How was anyone to know what the rules really were. Wasn’t that the point? You make them up as you go along. Do anything just to get the project off the ground?
 
When it came down to casting leads, Wiley wooed one of the top agencies in LA and managed to sign some significant names to deal memos. 
 
Not only had he gotten through the door, he had been invited to the top floor for a meeting. Wiley told everyone involved that he was close to finalizing this whole deal. All he needed was to sign the leads and the financial backers would be lined up outside his door. The meeting was scheduled at the Beverly Hills Agency and Wiley requested that a few of the key players be there. I remember asking him, “we’re close, aren’t we?” He assured me we were very near the finish line. I, ever the optimist, announced in FB that I was going to be famous. The next day, I jumped in my car and drove the 1,100 miles to Beverly Hills.
 

The view from Beverly Hills

To be continued (in a few weeks)

Art by Tadd Galusha

​We had finally turned the corner on the millennium, I was back in Portland and had not heard so much as a peep from anyone in the film industry. I had exhausted most of my contacts, managing to piss off the few good leads left in the entire City of Angels. The year was 2003 and I felt my only course of career action was to start from scratch, this time revisiting some of the older material in my portfolio in hopes of reworking into a commercially viable candidate. The screenplay I chose, “The Touristers.” 
 
A bit of historical perspective is in order. “The Touristers” was the second of my stories to generate a small bit of, eh, Hollywood heat. The logline for this masterpiece is as follows:
 
Leading a caravan of RVs, filled with a riotous assortment of tourists, through Baja is not the relaxing vacation, middle-aged gym teacher Marion C. Carlson hankers for.  His rebellious, high-spirited teen daughter, Carolyn, and his mutinous "Touristers" are the least of his worries.  South of the border, Carlson incurs the wrath of a bloodthirsty tribe of outlaw bikers and circling the wagons may be a classic western case of too little, too late.
 
Back in the day,“The Touristers” was represented by an East Coast agency, Manhattan Artists, and optioned for $1000.00 by none other than John Ratzenberger (Cliff, the mailman on the hit NBC show “Cheers”). I know, right? It was the early eighties and I was naive enough to think my stellar career as a Hollywood screenwriter was only just beginning. Reality hit when I drove the 1000 miles to LA to meet my television star benefactor, only to be literally turned away at the door. Anxious calls to my agent in New York were not returned, and it seemed that a life-long dream had stalled before it had even started.
 
Flash forward, twenty-some years later and I had reworked the script and spruced it up for a promising new decade. I thought the rewrite went well, taking the needed time necessary to flesh out some of the father/daughter relationship, tighten up some of the gags and come up with a “Magnificent 7” style opening to the story. Finally, after weeks of work, I was ready. But who would I send it to? There were only a couple of names remaining on my contact list and I was pretty sure that they had either forgotten who I was or wanted nothing to do with me. I was desperate, with only place to turn.
 
Still in its adolescence , the World Wide Web had once been a Gold Rush for screenwriters, featuring hundreds of sites where you could publish your logline, pray that it wasn’t stolen and unrealistically expect email offers and options from creatively starved and morally bankrupt producers to come pouring in. Much like the Yukon over a century ago, it did not take long for this so-called rush to exhaust itself and, over the years, most of sites dried up. I know as I spent hours desperately searching the survivors out in the Ethernet. I was about to give up entirely when I finally came upon it. One site had survived like an angry weed or persevering cockroach. The site was administered by a man named Wiley Bowman and it was called, “All Things Entertainment.”
 
A quick note about the “All Things Entertainment” website. There were plenty of simple, easy to use customizable website templates available for any wannabe webmaster. Apparently these were ignored as this website had the virtual look of Spawn Ranch shortly before Charlie Manson moved in. Never-the-less, despite the warning of inferior web design, I submitted my logline. Why not? It wasn’t like anyone else was asking for my material. I knew it for what it was, a Hail Mary. I also felt that I had all my protective and legal bases covered. The material was copyrighted and registered with the Writers Guild of America West (Several times in fact). It wasn’t like someone on the internet would ever think of ripping me off. Right?   
 
(To be Continued)

Not that I have your attention, we can get to this week's blog. 

​Fall is here and before we all leap in a decaying pile of dead vegetable matter, let’s catch up on a promise I made to all of you several months ago. In case you don’t remember, let me refresh your memory. I committed to you, my loyal readers, that I would get to the bottom of the age-old question that has been troubling mankind for over half a decade. And that question is, what the hell happened with Disney’s “John Carter?” I mean, it had an established director and had enough money thrown at it to fund a small country. It’s relatively true to the source material, Edgar Rice Burroughs “Princess of Mars,” and possesses production values that dazzled the eye. Everyone obviously wanted to create something great and instead, produced a deafening thud that rivaled some of the biggest box office disasters of modern cinema. Does it deserve all of the bad press it eventually got, probably not. But I think it’s worth at least a moment of investigation as to the all-important why.

I re-read the source material and was immediately swept away to Barsoom, Mars to the uninitiated, in a very lively story that I feel, is as well-written as any pulp/fantasy novel written. The prose of tight, energetic and Carter’s narration never gets old as he relates to his adventurous new life on the angry and mysterious red planet. Now that I have your attention, we can get to this week's real discussion.
​

​I watched the movie, for the first time, only months ago and attempt to watch it once more before committing my keyboard to an empty screen of Microsoft 365. I am sorry to report, a complete second viewing of the movie never happened. Try as I might, I just couldn’t get through it. First of all, there was entirely too much time spent in the Arizona first act. All of that could have been covered in 5 minutes.  Keep in mind, I am not talking of the prologue or epilogue but only Arizona sequence. If that didn’t put the final stake into the beating heart of a great story, several other things certainly contributed. Save for all the Tharks, the cast never lived up to the characters as written by Burroughs. The story lacked pacing, and the shooting script was overlong. And, here it comes, the main reason this adaptation does not work; it’s not any fun. 
 
Burroughs’ work is a hell of a ride. He keeps the story moving, introduces situations that are so unique and imaginative that they boggle the reader’s mind. If you keep track, it’s literally one adventure spilling into the next. The author creates a world that captures the imagination and begs for a return back for other stories. Sadly, the movie lacks any of this. It is ponderous, and, as much as I hate to say it, relies too much on the source material with absolutely no life of its own.
 
Keep in mind, I wanted to like this. I wanted desperately to revisit stories I had read as a young teen. About twenty minutes in, I realized not only was I not going to get back, but I might get stuck once in for all in Arizona and never get to the adopted home of John Carter and the wily cunning of the beautiful Princess Dejah Thoris.  
 
On a positive note, if you have not done so, treat yourself to some of the animator Bob Clampett’s test footage of “John Carter” that was done in the 30s. It certainly looks like the creator of television’s “Beanie and Cecil” could have brought a much-needed sense of fun and wonder to a great work of fiction.

Several weeks of unreturned phone calls and unopened emails later, the project was officially dead. Suzanne was apparently some real-life version of Brigadoon, only showing herself every 100 years to lost writers meandering about the Scottish Highlands of creativity. I didn’t need a coroner’s report to notify me of the script’s demise.  I learned later that Suzanne keeps a literal harem of pitches at her disposal and “The Lighthouse Keeper” was merely one of them. It has been several years, and like some jilted lover of yesteryear. I have not even received one word from the producer with the artificial top and the flaming red hair. But there is something.  I’ve was paid and I have a “blurry as fuck” photo to prove I was there.
 
We will be back next week with the usual hijinks. Coming very soon, yet another very special guest from the entertainment industry. See you then!
 The voice of the original writer echoed in my head ad nauseum. “It’s my story. You should of left well enough alone. You should have listened to me?” Where did I go wrong?  After all, I was the self-coronated master of Nazi horror lighthouse keeper stories. I drove back to my friend’s place in Santa Monica and waited fitfully for the director to find out what the hell was going on. Several days later, on my drive back to Northern CA, I heard back: “Massive improvement,” the diplomatic director informed me. “Suzanne just wants a few teeny-weeny tweaks to get us there.”
 
Save for the “teeny-weeny,” I had heard this all before. A few small changes could translate into several months of work. Suck it up, I told myself. Just wait for the notes. Much to my relief, it really did turn out to be just a few tweaks to act one and a bigger punch for the finale. No problem. I went immediately to work, tightening the introductions of the teens and adding the promise of more terror to come after the closing credits. I then sent the final version to all concerned parties.
 
Another table read was scheduled two weeks later and, this time, the director was invited. I wouldn’t be able to make it, so I was forced to rely on the eyes and ears of the director. There were no photos to document the event, but Suzanne stayed through the entire reading and reported we, at last, were ready. Ready for what? Preproduction? Financing? I wasn’t sure, but it must be a good thing, right? 
 
I already had dreams of pre, production and post dancing in my head. Not to mention all those award dinners. Perhaps I was on my way to a panel in San Diego to talk about Nazi lighthouse keepers at Comic Con. This was my ticket out. Just wait world, show business was just about to meet the most talented middle-aged writer working a little business I call show. I was going to break through whatever they call the equivalent of the glass ceiling for senior citizens, a cover story in AARP magazine and have my 2ndproduced film under my belt.  Look out, world. Here I come.
​
And here is the fundamental lesson to this three-part series of blogs so I hope you are paying attention. It doesn’t matter what happens now. Why? You, my friend, have already been paid. You have received all monies owed and now the entire matter is officially out of your hands. Before investing too much into the whole affair, move onto the next project.

(A college production of "Brigadoon.")

Several weeks of unreturned phone calls and unopened emails later, the project was officially dead. Suzanne was apparently some real-life version of Brigadoon, only showing herself every 100 years to lost writers meandering about the Scottish Highlands of creativity. I didn’t need a coroner’s report to notify me of the script’s demise.  I learned later that Suzanne keeps a literal harem of pitches at her disposal and “The Lighthouse Keeper” was merely one of them. It has been several years, and like some jilted lover of yesteryear. I have not even received one word from the producer with the artificial top and the flaming red hair. But there is something.  I’ve was paid and I have a “blurry as fuck” photo to prove I was there.

​21 days later, the script was completed. Now, all that was needed was to talk to the creator of the story and get his okay. Sounds easy enough, right?  But remember, there was just the slightest of hitches. I had not spoken to him since I got the job. I had instructed the director to keep him busy while I sorted through his story. Before I did call, I decided to get my ducks in a row. Copies of the screenplay went to the Director and Producer. If they had comments, it would be better to start here. After all, one was making it and the other, most importantly, was putting up the money. Initial comments from Matt (director) were good. Suzanne, guardedly optimistic, would hold off judgment until the table read.
 
The call was scheduled for a Saturday afternoon. The author was on the east coast. I decided the best course of action was to remain overly enthusiastic. Whenever the author would bring up a particular note, I would let forth with another gush of just how lucky I was to be chosen to work on such a terrific story in such a terrific business. When pressed harder, I gently reminded him that the reading was in a week. Let’s just see what happens there. He reluctantly agreed, but not before insisting his original rock song play over the opening or closing credits. Wait? What? An original song. If I had seen something like that, I am quite sure I would’ve cut that. Maybe I should consider putting that back in.

​ 
Paramount Studios on a Saturday afternoon is a ghost town. Not much happening. To be truthful, I am not sure why. I have been several times in the eighties and nineties, and it was always busy. At least, this weekend the outdoor tank was up. How many naval battles had been fought in this historic swimming pool on steroids? I stopped off quickly at the studio Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and got caffeinated, just before it was time to meet Suzanne De Laurentiis in the flesh. 
 
Suzanne, oh Suzanne, 3rdcousin to Dino, is a firecracker with flaming red hair and artificial upper half. We adjourned to her office and she immediately went into a pitch for her new creative obsession, “The Suzanne Show.” She pitched it as Oprah for menopausal women. “You get a hot flash.” You get a hot flash.”  “Everybody gets a hot flash.” Oh, yes, and don’t forget the cooking segments.  Anyways, I was polite, listened and agreed to think about it. I mean what was I going to say?

​The Lucille Ball Theatre is an intimate little screening room that had been converted into a conference room. Inside, a group of young, fresh-faced actors, laptops open, prepared for the reading. From their puzzled expression, I guessed they were seeing the script for the first time. I introduced myself and adjourned to the back to set up my complicated recording device. In actuality, my recording device was an iPhone 4. But, hey, still plenty complicated. Suzanne swept in with her entourage of one and introduced all and the reading started promptly at 2pm.
 
Despite the puzzled faces on the actors, the reading was well. According to the actors later, the raised eyebrows were attributed to the changes in the material. Sometime, early in the second act, Suzanne abruptly left, leaving her entourage in charge. We finished the reading, posed for a couple of pictures. Whoever entourage was, he too had trouble with the complicated iPhone 4. The pictures are, how do you put this politely, blurry as fuck. Feedback was great, the actors laughing and celebrating the improvements over the last reading. Suzanne must not have shared in that enthusiasm. Like Elvis, De Laurentiis had left the building.
 
Saying goodbyes to the cast, I called the director in the parking lot. “It could not have gone better,” I explained. 
“What do you mean?”
“The producer left before it was over.”

"Blurry as fuck."  (The exciting conclusion of "The Lighthouse Keeper" next week.

THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER
 
“World War II is over… but someone hasn't surrendered!”
 
The press small release, dated 05/13/13, was as follows:
 
“Los Angeles based producer Suzanne DeLaurentiis will collaborate with Andre Sadowski on their upcoming film The Lighthouse Keeper. The film is scheduled to go into pre-production this summer.”
 
“The Lighthouse Keeper is a horror film set off the coast of New England during WWII. An elite German SS soldier is sent to America and uses a lighthouse as his base of operations. His ardent nationalism blinds him to the fall of the Third Reich and he continues a murderous campaign for years, overtaking the area surrounding the lighthouse. A group of college students are brought to his shores and become the next target in the Keeper's twisted mission. They must try to end his reign of terror before his quest for final victory claims more lives.”
​

The original script, a horror thriller by Andre Sadowski, was in need a rewrite. It had just undergone the first table-read and Suzanne DeLaurentiis ( 2nd cousin to the immortal Dino), having been informed of my one week turn-around on “Axe to Grind,” hired me to apply first aid – stat! Most importantly, I was to be paid in cash. Half now, and half upon delivery. I would be a literary Sam Spade. All that was missing was the $50.00 a day in expenses. The clock was ticking. I was given one month before the 2ndtable read at Paramount Studios.
 
I dug in immediately, reading and re-reading to determine the strength of the outline. I decided to strip the script of all dialogue to determine the story’s overall structure. There were weaknesses in all three acts, I carefully added scenes/beats to flesh out the story in order for it to make sense. Keep in mind, making sense in a horror film is all relative. The story merely needs to be believable in a a Jason Voorhees, Friday the 13thpart 3-D, kind of way. Once that was feat accomplished, I went to work rewriting the script.
 
So, I am about ten days in, working fast and attempting to make it to deadline when I hear from the director. Apparently, the original writer was under the impression that this was going to be a collaborative rewrite; the two of us holding hands in the spirit of true brotherhood. Whoops. To make matters worse, the original writer wanted to see what I had done so far. Keep in mind, this is something that I NEVER, EVER do. The best plan of action is always to charge ahead. I instructed the director to keep the writer busy until I finished. Keep the vision in my head clear, I reasoned. Keep the eye on the prize. 
 
Now, just a friendly reminder. This is not Pulitzer Prize winning material here. This is horror. Teens disembark from a pleasure cruise at an island lighthouse and die, one by one, at the hands of a murderous Nazi. I know the rules. All of the rules. Including the rule that the first victims need to be the couple just about to make sweet, sweet love in some deserted or remote corner of the island.
 
Three weeks later a rough draft was completed, and a copy went to the entire production team. There were some minor notes and a phone call was booked between the original writer, the director and me. The call was to be in on a Saturday and it would be the first time that I would exchange words with the man who created the Nazi Lighthouse keeper. How would he react? Would he be angry over the lack of collaboration? Would he track me down and dispose of me like one of his victims in his story?

To be continued...

Or as I like to call it, JERRY LEWIS DAY!

Odds and ends to end the summer!

​How about a big round of virtual applause for last week’s guest, Dwayne Epstein. Such a great interview. We had so many guests on the site last week that our web counter actually broke.  LOL. Thanks, Dwayne. Seriously, I wish him continued success with his great biography, “Lee Marvin: Point Blank.” If you have not purchased this yet, what are you waiting for! Please check it out. You will not be disappointed.  
 
As we move into Fall, we will be having more great guests so, stay tuned.
 
A big shout-out to Jessica for her “Son of Ravage” short and sweet review: “Holy cats! If you like a lot of action and some fun characters, this is an enjoyable read. Looking forward to the next adventures.” Yes, we are still keeping track of reviews, so please keep those cards and letters coming.
 
Have you been checking out ALL the comments on jplinde.com? There’s a reader who reported that he worked as a gofer on the Matt Helm series. He made some rather startling claims. I asked if he wouldn’t mind taking the time to answer a few questions but have not heard back. I have to admit, I am curious. Perhaps it is just another of our many Russian bots that come to visit. Haven’t had one in quite a while, but welcome back comrade. I doubt you can throw an election with Dino gossip, but give it your best shot.

Recently finished “The Overstory” by Richard Powers. This is a Pulitzer Prize winning work of fiction and definitely worth your time. If you are at all interested in our dying planet, I would check this novel out. To save a tree (the real heroes of this book), you might want to purchase it on Kindle or ebook. Next up for the Linde Family Book Club, “There There” by Tommy Orange. I will keep you posted.
​
Jerry Seinfeld’s meltdown on this season’s “Comedian in Cars Getting Coffee” is particularly worth catching. The tirade takes place on episode featuring comedian/actress writer Bridget Everett. It’s fascinating to witness the usually calm, collected and Zen-like performer lose his shit at the mention of another comic’s name. After a bit of research, I discovered the comedian that causes the shit to hit the fan happens to be Bobcat Goldthwait. I am interested to see how this one plays out. There are a few mentions of this on the web if you are so inclined. I just found the episode memorable for all the reasons stated above.

​Currently, the missus and I are plowing through the entire Veronica Mars playlist and are midway through the 2ndseason. For all of those not familiar with the teen detective, it’s a series that was created by author/writer/producer Rob Thomas and Executive Produced by Hollywood legend Joel Silver. This is not your typical Nancy Drew type detective story. It creatively mixes angst, humor and surprising darkness into a teen noir that is a far cry from the regular episodic fare.
 
Well, I think I blabbered on enough. Have a great week.

​As a writer for Filmfax Magazine, Dwayne Epstein published comprehensive articles on everyone from Bobby Darin to film director Sam Fuller. His recent biography, “Lee Marvin: Point Blank,” is a comprehensive biographical work on a very complicated actor and is consistently among the top sellers in non-fiction. The work is accessible, comprehensive, detailed and professionally paced. Quite frankly, it is a seminal piece of work by a great writer. A while back, I devoured this work on one of my favorite actors and was so impressed, I reached out to the author. Dwayne was modest, sincere and appreciative and I am so glad that he took the time to visit with us today. Ladies and gentlemen, my Q & A with Mr. Dwayne Epstein.
 
Lee Marvin was a complicated man. What made you want to tackle the subject?
 
DE: First off, let me thank you for having me as a guest on your blog as it’s very much appreciated. As to your first question, you should know that I get asked that a lot. Lee Marvin has always fascinated me. I’m a baby boomer and I grew up watching The Dirty Dozen on TV, way back when they were showing it in two parts. I can watch it now and distinctly remember when the first part would end and the second part would begin. In all of his films, he was always very distinct to me, even when he was not the leading actor. Even more so after I decided to write a book on him, and the more I found out about him. He was much more than he was on screen, obviously, just like most people are. He was a fascinating man. When I researched the book, I discovered he really was the first of his kind, I mean of the post-war actors; he pretty much created the modern America cinema of violence as we know it.   

 
 It seems my impressionable childhood was affected by these three Marvin films; “Cat Ballou,” “The Professionals,” and “Point Blank.” (I include Dirty Dozen in this as well but feel overall, that these three had more of an impact on me.) What are your top five Lee Marvin films and why? 
 
DE: I read the blog you wrote in preparation for this entry and saw almost all of my favorites on your list, you sneaky devil! Truth be told, for such a lengthy career, I think five films is too limiting, especially since his career evolved in different stages. The first stage was playing smaller roles in some great and mediocre films. Then he went a lengthy period playing major roles or second leads until his middle-aged ascent into stardom. I have favorites in all three stages of his career. 
Off the top of my head, of his early roles, I loved him in a strange little film called "Shack Out on 101" (1955). It's a Cold War thriller that practically defies description but I highly recommend it for its entertainment value alone, which cannot be overestimated. He also was wonderful in a cult western with Randolph Scott called "Seven Men From Now" (1956). The dialogue scene in the covered wagon and the film's finale is some of the best work Marvin's ever done. There's also "The Wild One" (1954), "The Big Heat" (1953), "Bad Day at Black Rock" (1955) and "Raintree County" (1957), superior films in either execution or budget in which Marvin is a true stand out in every scene he's in.
   For the mid-point in his career he was amazing in "The Comancheros" (1961), "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962), "Donavan's Reef" (1963) and "The Killers" (1964). The films themselves may vary in quality but not Marvin's performances. He steals scenes from everyone around him, including the likes of Ronald Reagan, John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart.
 Once he established himself as a major star in the mid-sixties, he made a string of action films that are almost unprecedented in both their production value and his memorable performances in them. "The Professionals" (1966) is a personal favorite in that group as well as "The Dirty Dozen." Several of these films still stand the test of time no matter how old they are but even more amazing is how believable Marvin remained as a middle-aged action star. The silver hair, aged features and deep resonant voice worked for him, not against him even in the overblown musical "Paint Your Wagon "(1969), which is a favorite guilty pleasure. Of course, I must include "The Big Red One" (1980).
  Like many of the post-war actors of his generation he also gave great performances on television. One of my favorites was a dramatic special directed by John Frankenheimer called “The American” in which Marvin played Native American WWII hero Ira Hayes. He was subdued and poignant in the role and it was the only time he ever played a combat Marine, which he was in real life.
​

What is it about Lee Marvin that resonates so much with a young, male audience? 
 
DE: Interesting question as my research has shown that a few years back a poll was taken by MTV viewers who named Marvin’s character in Point Blank the fifth toughest badass of all-time. The obvious answer then to that question is that Marvin is indeed a badass and appreciated on that level. 
    Personally, I think it’s a little deeper than that. He came to stardom older than most other actors and looked it. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t ancient. He just looked more experienced thereby making him look more capable of what he did on screen and what he did on screen was pretty impressive. That truly resonates and it’s hardly as dated as watching a John Wayne film from the same time period. 
  I actually discovered how much he resonates with some younger audiences when I encountered a group of Orange County Gen Xer’s who called themselves the Bastard Sons Of Lee (BSOL). I was so impressed after meeting them I became a member myself. They explain their appreciation of all things Marvin pretty well in my book. 
​

In his best work, Marvin had a precision in his acting style. Do you think part of this stems from his time in the Marines and WW II?
 
DE: Absolutely! He once famously said he learned how to act by being in the Marines. He explained it offhandedly by stating that that it was a matter of learning how to act like he wasn’t scared when he truly was but obviously there was more to it than that. Being in the USMC after having been a discipline problem in school taught him how to get things done his own way while telling his C.O. what he wanted to hear. Several people who knew him well told me that. Being a Marine he also got his DNA hard wired to always show up on time no matter what transpired the night before and do your job. He was a Marine through and through.
 
There is something tragic about the end of Lee Marvin’s career. Ultimately, was it his drinking, his personal life or his choice in projects that cut short what could have been a much longer and even more brilliant career?
 
DE: My guess is a combination of all three, which is often the case in most instances. A popular sociological question poised by most historians is “Do the times make the man or does the man make the times?” Obviously the answer is probably combination of the two. Would FDR had made a great president if he didn’t have polio? I’m not putting Lee Marvin in FDR’s category of greatness but you get the point.
  As to the end of Marvin’s life, just for fun I like to theorize what he might have done had he lived a little longer, which I did as an appendix in the back of the book. 
 
I find your sections on Lee Marvin’s politics fascinating. He supported John Kennedy for President, was against the Viet Nam war and was a life-long democrat. What motivated Lee Marvin politically?
 
DE: Like most of us, his political point of view was formed early in life and was most likely a result of his upbringing. His parents were life-long Democrats as was his brother, whom I got to know fairly well. Keep in mind though, his mother Courtenay was a working woman but she was also a steel magnolia from Virginia, making her more of what used to be called a Dixiecrat. Now we call that thinking ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats. As he got older, Marvin did get a little more conservative but I doubt if he voted Republican. After Kennedy’s assassination he never spoke publicly about his politics again other than some off-handed remarks on certain issues, such as gay rights or civil rights both of which he supported.
​

How long did it take you to write this book, from idea to draft?
 
DE: Not intentionally but it took me nearly two decades! Interesting story is how I came about to take on the project, initially. Like you, I dabbled in stand-up comedy and other things while working as a waiter and doing the occasional writing gig. I’ve always been a huge Steve McQueen fan and when biographer Marshall Terrill published his book "Steve McQueen: Portrait of A Rebel," I noted some minor discrepancies. On a lark, I attempted to contact him and much to my surprise, he responded and we met for dinner.  
I guess I may have been trying to impress him because I recall that fairly early in the conversation he told me that with my knowledge of film I should write a film biography of a favorite actor myself. My sarcastic response was, "I'd like to but you already wrote it!" It did not take long for the conversation to then turn to the possibility of who I could write about. Being the movie fan that I am there were of course a plethora of choices but what narrowed the field was market considerations. Marshall had been a marketing major in college and following that had also worked in the business world. His input on that level was valuable as we ticked off a list of major stars who really had not had a definitive bio written about them. It was that marketing challenge that brought us to Lee Marvin. There had been one or two previous books on the subject but nothing that could possibly be called definitive. 
   I told him I would think about it but from that moment on, he never gave up trying to talk me into it. Despite any differences we may have had through the years, as well as my own insecurities, he has remained one of the book's biggest champions and for that I am eternally grateful.
 
 
How long did you spend on research alone?
 
DE: Not long after my conversation with Marshall, I began the initial research on the project and that was back in 1994. Believe me, had I known it would take nearly 20 years to get published, I doubt very highly if I would have pursued it. Luckily, it was a subject I did not ever tire of researching. The more I found out, the more enthused I became. It's funny in that even Lee's first wife, Betty said to me at one point, "Aren't you getting sick of Lee? I would be and I was married to the man!" 
   The reason it took so long quite simply is the fact that every major publisher I approached told me the same, thing. With all due respect to Marshall's business acumen, they all said there was no market and no one is interested in a book on Lee Marvin. 
   All that changed permanently when I switched agents for the third time. The previous agents were okay but not nearly as persistent as the late Mike Hamilburg. I should point out that even though I continued researching and cataloging information on Marvin the project was put on the back burner for a few years when I had to help my ailing parents. My father passed away from Alzheimer's in 2005 and my mother passed from heart disease three years later. When the smoke settled, I got back in contact with Mike Hamilburg, revamped my entire work up to that time to create a stronger proposal and in less than a year he had an interested publisher. I cannot say enough about either Hamilburg's belief in the project nor publisher Tim Schaffner's mission within his company Schaffner Press to put out a quality product while the rest of the publishing world thumbed their noses.
   It may have taken nearly 20 years but to my mind, it was worth it. When I'd get the inevitable rejection letters Marshall told me to keep them as reminders for when I do get published. He was right about that. In July of 2014 Lee Marvin Point Blank became the number 4 best-selling non-fiction E-book on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Publisher's Weekly bestseller lists. More importantly, it became an amazing life lesson for me by example: No matter the odds, if you believe in what you're doing, never give up on your dream!
​

Let’s back up a bit and talk about your writing career. How did you get started? 
 
DE: Well, I’ll tell you like this. I did kind of okay in school but I really seemed to excel when an assignment or a test required an essay. Not being the brightest guy when it came to recognizing my own ability, I didn't realize how many times my writing ability saved me from bad grades until I was MUCH older. As the old saying goes, sometimes it's not so much a light bulb that goes off as a whack in the back of the head with a 2x4 that does that trick.
 When I was in college, I wrote for the school paper and also entered and won several Phi Theta Kappa writing contests on campus. That proved to be the whack in the head with the 2x4. I decided to give it a try from there as a professional. I had written some freelance articles for a publisher of five local papers in New Jersey and the editor eventually hired me on staff. I enjoyed working there and learned a lot. I eventually chose to move back to California for personal reasons but there was one aspect of working at Cranbury Publications that has stayed with me to this day. One of the sales people there and I became very close and as I like to say, I was Jimmy Olson to her Lois Lane. Barbara and I have been together ever since.
  Anyway, When I came back to California, I found work on several other local papers and then began working for a gentleman named Mike Miller who ran a company called Miller Education Materials. He sold books to schools throughout the country and as his managing editor, we put together the catalog for three companies in all. I learned a lot there as well, including earning my first book publishing credit when Mr. Miller decided to branch out a little more. Unfortunately, after 9/11 the company suffered financially and I was laid off. Being a lifelong movie fan I was also freelancing for Filmfax and Outré magazines at the same time. That was where my initial research on Lee Marvin first saw the light of day.
 
When did you first get interested in the making of film and the talent it takes to make it all happen?
 
 DE: If my mother was to be believed, it started for me shortly after birth. Seriously. I have two older sisters and as was the common practice of the day, my parents would wrangle us all into the station wagon and got to the drive-in on a hot night so the kids would all eventually fall asleep. According to my mother, both of my sisters — two and six years older than I — would be fast asleep in about twenty minutes while I, no more than a few months old, would continue to stare at the lights coming off the screen through the entire double feature. I found that hard to believe but my mother assured me it was the truth.
 My love of films came largely from her, as she was a big movie fan when she was growing up. She would wake me up in the middle of the night if a good movie were on, even if it were a school night. 
   Some times her efforts would back fire, though. I remember once when I was about nine or ten years old. I was doing something terrible and she decided to use psychology on me instead of punishing me as usual. "Angels with Dirty Faces" was on TV that day and she forced me to watch it from beginning to end. Without ruining the ending, she asked me afterwards, “Did you learn your lesson about being a bad boy?” I turned away from the TV, wiped the tears from my eyes and said to her, “Yeah, I learned a lesson. James Cagney is great!” Been a Cagney fan ever since. Thanks, Ma! 
 
You’ve worked and continue to work for a series of film magazines. What is your attraction to motion pictures and film criticism?
 
DE: It was just a natural progression from my original fascination. What aided me immensely was growing up in the 1970s, a time of intense interest in filmmaking in general. For example, I have a vivid memory of watching Richard Schickel's PBS series, "The Men Who Made the Movies," back in the 70s when I was VERY young. Up until then, I never even gave much consideration to the importance of the director to a film and the concept changed my thinking, dramatically. In fact, some of the subjects in Schickel's series, such as Raoul Walsh and Bill Wellman, proved even more fascinating than the films they made!
An even greater example of early influences is a series of books put out by Citadel Press entitled "The Films of..."The entire series (each title of interest of varying quality) was a revelation to this young starstruck movie fan. Imagine for a moment you're looking for any well-illustrated information on the stars, genres, and periods of filmmaking that you love, long before the days of the internet, and you stumble up such a rack at the local mall's bookstore.
  I was so bold at such a young age, I even went so far as to write the publisher and ask if I could write a book called "The Films of Steve McQueen." I was politely told that one was in the works but thanks for the offer. They were right, of course. One did come out...about ten years later.
   The existing titles varied in quality, as I said, but I noticed the same very prolific writer authored several of the best. His name was Tony Thomas and for reasons I can no longer recall, I was fortunate to meet up with him in his home in southern California.
  I was extremely impressed with his kind demeanor, countless soundtracks shelved on the wall (many produced by him!) and his amazing patience with me. In fact, He simply handed me several soundtracks as we spoke and signed them all! I still have them. He signed the soundtrack to Robin Hood, “To Dwayne, a kindred Spirit.” What he wrote remains a treasured possession. I wonder if anybody does that kind of thing any more.
 
 
12. What is your education?
 
DE: Public schools in both New York and California as I was growing up. Following that, I was a Liberal Arts major and was also Phi Theta Kappa when I attended Mercer County Community College in New Jersey. Even though it was a community college there were some wonderful teachers there I remember with great fondness. I had planned to go on to Rutgers but as John Lennon said, life is what happens while your busy making other plans, such as having to pay bills and the like. 
   I guess what I’m trying to say is that my formal higher education is rather abbreviated but the experience I’ve garnered outside of school is quite plentiful. A friend of mine, Bill Krohn, is a wonderful cinema historian, having written book on everyone from Luis Bunuel to Alfred Hitchcock and he paid me a wonderful compliment. He said, “You may not have gone to Harvard, like I did, but you are a serious self-taught film historian.”
​

What’s next for you? 

DE: To tell you the truth, ever since my agent passed away in 2016 my writing career has being lying kind of fallow. I still get the occasional freelance gig via the likes of Emmy.com, which I love. I also maintain a blog on Lee Marvin to continue to boost sales, as it’s pretty amazing how much Lee Marvin remains in the media. However, the bigger projects I’d like to do haven’t quite come together yet but they are definitely in the pipeline and there may be news on that front very soon. Keep your fingers crossed!

Thank you, Dwayne!

What a fantastic visit and what a terrific book. Folks, I urge you to go out and purchase a copy of this book. It is available at all of your favorite bookstores and, of course, on Amazon. There's a link here...www.amazon.com/dp/B00B0SAF3S/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Z6tyDbVKS2FEF

I am very pleased to announce that Dwayne Epstein, author of “Lee Marvin: Point Blank,” will be joining me next Sunday, August 25 on jplinde.com for a very special interview. You won’t want to miss this one!
 
Dwayne has written for Filmfax Magazine, with comprehensive articles on everyone from Bobby Darin to film director Sam Fuller. His biography “Lee Marvin: Point Blank,” is one of the most comprehensive biographical works of one of the most under-appreciated actors of his generation. His bestselling biography is consistently among the top ten lists in non-fiction. This work is accessible, comprehensive, detailed and professionally paced. Quite frankly, it is a seminal piece of work by a great writer. I devoured this work on one of my favorite actors and was so impressed, I reached out.  

Praise for “Lee Marvin; Point Blank.”
LEONARD MALTIN
 
"Dwayne Epstein has courageously updated the Marvin file with an archive of interviews and research that encompasses a life lived large on the world stage, surging like a Hollywood epic across continents and filled with a cast of the famous and infamous."

See you all next week!

​Just wanted to give a shout out for the great comments on my little salute to Dean Martin as Matt Helm. There were a lot of comments, most of them anti Dino as Matt Helm, but still a heck of a lot of fun. Good or bad comments, it is great to hear from you.
 
Confession: Having just watched and thoroughly enjoyed Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” I decided to sit down and attempt watch Matt Helm’s last film adventure, “The Wrecking Crew.” I only made it an hour in before I couldn’t subject myself to it any further. Any of the fun, in any of the other films, is gone and the 55-year old Dino smirk seems more creepy than sexy. No wonder they decided not to make the next one.
 
What have you been reading, writing and watching? There are a lot of choices out there so stay safe. For my part, I’ve been busy in my never-ending attempt to fill my head with creative content from other writers/producers and directors.
 
Thanks to our little visit with Mark Verheiden, I am re-watching the entire seasons of “Battlestar Galactica.” I have just concluded the mini-series and episode one. All of these first episodes, written of course, by Ronald D. Moore. For those of you asleep for the last few decades, Moore cut his teeth on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” moved onto “Deep Space 9” and “Voyager,” before taking on Battlestar. His sense of story is nothing short of mesmerizing and he deserves all the praise he gets. I am very much looking forward to moving onto “Outlander.” Very soon, I will get to the Mark V material. I can’t wait. Mark is worth the wait.

​I also just finished re-watching “2010: The Year We Make Contact,” written, produced, directed and photographed by Peter Hyams. Stepping into Stanley Kubrick’s legendary shoes was no easy task, and Hyams does a respectful job in taking an original story that left plenty of questions (intentionally, I might add), and crafting a sequel that is dramatic, exciting and takes the time and trouble to answer a few lingering questions along the way. If you have not read the director’s book on his correspondence with famed author Arthur C Clark, “The Odyssey File” do so. It’s highly recommended. Long out of print, but worth searching out.

​Another gem, recently rediscovered, thanks to TCM, is a very small but entertaining film titled, “The Rounders,” with Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda and Chill Willis, directed by Burt Kennedy (“Support your local Sheriff”). While not much on plot, the two performances by two outstanding actors in rare comedic roles, is well worth the ninety minute running time.

​And last, but never least, “The Killers” starring Edmond O’ Brian and introducing to the big screen, Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner. Directed by Robert Siodmak, the film is based on the 1927 short story by none other than Ernest Hemmingway.  An uncredited John Huston and Richard Brooks co-wrote the screenplay, which was credited to Anthony Veiler. Later remade into a theatrical release with Lee Marvin, John Cassavettes, Angie Dickinson and, of all people Ronald Reagan. Watch the Swede get mixed up with Kitty Collins and a very bad crowd. Witness a bad-ass William Conrad terrorize a small-town diner looking for the Swede. This movie has it all and is worth seeking out. I’ve seen it at least ten times and it never gets old. 
 
In the words of the immortal Paul Harvey, “Until next time, America. This is J.P. Linde. Good day!”