The Writer's Life 7/25 - Names

Liam Neeson’s screen body count is probably still well short of Clint Eastwood’s. He did not add much to it in one of his most recent works, A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014). He dispatches only three dirt bags, two in the first few minutes. Based on the novel by Lawrence Block, the story concentrates on detective work, as the hero, a recovering alcoholic ex-cop, tracks down the psychopaths responsible for the kidnap and murder of family members of drug dealers. It is grim and taut, but would probably disappoint fans of the Taken series, where slime balls get their just desserts every few minutes. Of course, visceral satisfaction is guaranteed, only on a smaller scale. The film comes in under two hours and features great location shots in Red Hook, Brooklyn, I presume, and in Greenwood Cemetery. Made on an estimated budget of 28 million, it brought in almost 26 in the U.S. alone. I’m sure foreign ticket sales and DVD purchases and rentals pushed it well into profitability, continuing Neeson’s amazing run. Scott Frank directed, his third stint at the helm. He has also written 19 screenplays, several of them adaptations. So far his work has not risen above solid. 70,000+ users at IMDb have rated the flick, forging to a consensus of 6.5 of ten. There were a couple of aspects I didn’t like but, overall, I enjoyed it. On a scale of five, 3.2.

Here are the top ten box office names of all-time according to the-numbers.com. It includes several likely to be unfamiliar even to movie buffs, actors who have done voice-overs in animation mega-hits, and also Stan Lee of Marvel comics:
1. Samuel L. Jackson
2. Frank Welker
3. Stan Lee
4. Bob Bergen
5. John Ratzenberger (Cliff on Cheers)
6. Morgan Freeman
7. Tom Hanks
8. Liam Neeson
9. Mickie McGowan
10. Gary Oldman

To the delight of frustrated fans, the Mets have released outfielder John Mayberry Jr., who batted cleanup the other night despite an average of .170. I hadn’t seen such vitriol directed at a local player in a long time. Fortunately, the Yankees have no need of him. Chris Young struggled similarly with the Amazin’s last season. Picked up by the Bombers, he has delivered several big hits for them in a limited role. Somehow those pinstripes bring out the best in many marginal players. In a way, I feel sorry for Mayberry, who appears to be a solid citizen undeserving of such wrath, then I remember that he has been fortunate enough to have played at least parts of seven seasons in MLB, where the minimum salary has been at least $380,000 since he first appeared. It is $500,000 in 2015.

It was an above-average session of the floating book shop today on Bay Parkway. Natasha's husband showed up early and overpaid for three hardcovers. Then a gentleman who has bought two bags of Russian DVDs bought a third, the last of the haul that recently came into my possession. That alone would have been sufficient. Surprisingly, several people bought either one or two books. My thanks.

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/