Michael's Musings

February 17, 2014

Wife Sandy spent a couple of days in Los Angeles this past week, so that she could attend her brother's funeral.  She left Tuesday and was back on Thursday.

While she was gone, I started working on updating my Dinah Shore manuscript.  There's not a lot to do with this one and, assuming I don't get distracted with another project, I should have it ready to ship to the publisher in a month or so.  Truthfully, I'm not sure how much interest there still is about Miss Shore, but since the manuscript was already  90% finished, I see no reason not to put it out for the public to decide.

Next Saturday (22), I'm hoping to have a reading of my new stage play at my home.  An actress friend of mine is asking two of her actor friends to join her for the reading.  It's important for a playwright to hear what his words sound like, so that he can make any adjustments before he sends the work out into the world.

The play is entitled B MOVIE, and it deals with the Franchot Tone-Barbara Payton-Tom Neal affair, which was the most sordid and notorious Hollywood scandal of the early 1950s.  If you've read my most recent memoir, LIFE, LIBERTY & THE PURSUIT OF HOLLYWOOD, you know that, shortly after I moved to Los Angeles, I lived in the same apartment building as Ms. Payton.

I will let  you know how the reading goes, but if it goes well, the play should be available in both paperback and Kindle editions sometime in March.

You have a creative week,

Michael

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February 10, 2014

My wife's brother, Michael Pell, died suddenly this past Thursday.  He was, I believe, 64; a very nice guy who worked for almost 40 years in the mail department of the LAPD.  The funeral will probably be sometime this week and my wife will, hopefully, be able to fly into Los Angeles from our home in Austin to attend.

Beyond that, there's not much else happening that I want to talk about.  This past week, I did post a review of BURTON AND TAYLOR on the Best Bets on DVD site, accessible via the link in the Introduction section of this page.  It's a well done TV movie, so you might want to take a look at what I had to say about it.

Finally, keeping my promise of last week, here's the link for the trailer of my recently published screenplay, THE AMUSEMENT, and if the link doesn't work, just copy the address below into your browser and you'll be taken right there. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz0LECQQ0dw

You have a creative week.

Michael

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February 3, 2014

My original screenplay, THE AMUSEMENT, is now available for purchase on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions.

I'm quite proud of this work, and if you enjoy erotic noirish thrillers with unexpected plot twists, you will be doing yourself a favor if you give it a read.
Just click on this link to purchase a copy, or if that doesn't work (as is sometimes the case), copy the following address into your browser and you will be taken right there.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Amusement-An-Original-Screenplay/dp/1494991950/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391271982&sr=8-1&keywords=the+amusement+druxman

Next week, I'll post the link to the trailer.

This past week, I finished the first draft of my new 3-person play...and now I am sitting on it for a few weeks, so that I can return to it with fresh eyes.  I can't tell you how tempted I am to cheat and just start reading it now, but I will try to resist.

On Wednesday, I had an enjoyable lunch at Threadgill's with actor Robert Walden (ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, LOU GRANT, etc.).  It is amazing that we had never met before last year's  Austin Film Festival, yet we have so many friends and colleagues in common.

Currently, I am awaiting the arrival of the materials I need to complete my Dinah Shore manuscript.  There's no hurry to finish it, but I've decided to keep sitting on the new play until I'm done with Dinah.

I've uploaded a review of THE WHITE QUEEN to the Best Bets on DVD website, accessible via the link in the Introduction section of this page.  This is a terrific historical mini-series that deals with England's War of the Roses, so take a look.

You have a creative week.

Michael

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