The Writer's Life 8/31 - Stalwarts

RIP horror-meister Wes Craven, 76, who succumbed to brain cancer. I was not a big fan of his work, but there’s no denying he made a huge mark on Hollywood. Operating on modest budgets, his Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream franchises reeled in big bucks and entertained millions. He had experience in every aspect of the business. At IMDb he has 36 credits listed as writer, 27 as producer, 29 as director, 19 as actor, five as editor, and one as cinematographer. He also wrote two novels, Fountain Society, and Coming of Rage, co-author with Steve Niles. Here is a quote attributed to him: “Horror films don’t create fear. They release it.” Well done, sir.

On Saturday night Movies!, 113 on Cablevision in NYC, ran Tender Is the Night (1962), an adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, starring Jason Robards Jr., Jennifer Jones, Joan Fontaine and Jill St. John. It’s only so-so, but commendable in that it stuck to the author’s storyline. In researching the film, I was impressed by the canon of its director, Henry King, whose last work it was and who is not mentioned among the all-time greats. From 1915-1962 King was at the helm of 116 movies, many of them solid entertainment, a few quite notable, such as 12 O’clock High (1949) and The Gunfighter (1950), each of those starring Gregory Peck. He also appeared in 116 silents as an actor. He is quoted as having said: “I’ve had more fun directing pictures than most people have playing games.”

When I sold my 100 shares of Apple I listed three reasons why, one being that the Apple Watch was a flop. That may have been erroneous. Recently, I've seen several articles saying it is gaining ground. Also, a friend said every member of a family he knows has one and raves about it.

My thanks to lovely young Iryna, who purchased A Hitch in Twilight, and to the Russian woman who bought a novel in her native tongue.

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/