Along with about 150 others, I heard Elmore and his son talk last night [Jan. 19, 2012] about their craft, their characters and their new books at our local library in Birmingham, Mich., about 20 miles north of Detroit.
It was a hometown stop for EL after a publication day reading at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, Calif., and before he heads to promo events in NYC next week and suburban Chicago the week after. Our forum host also was there, back in his old hometown, but Gregg slipped out at the end before I could say hello.
Here are notepad jots that didn’t make it into my coverage at Birmingham Patch, a daily news site [link below]:
* EL is working on an untitled (or just undisclosed) book set in Palm Springs, which he revisited last weekend. “I don’t know yet what the story is about, but it’ll come to me.” It originally was called Sweet Mary and set in Arizona, but he bailed “after 11 pages.”
* He’s eager to see the film version of Freaky Deaky, shot in and around Detroit last summer by director Charles Matthau and due for 2012 release. The 49-year-old sol of Walter Matthau also wrote the adapted screenplay. Christian Slater and Crispin Glover star.
* Years back, he declined to consider setting Killshot film rights to Bruce Willis “because he would have changed the ending so he’d shoot the bad guy.” As he paused mid-anecdote while trying to recall Willis’ name, he turned to Peter and said: “You know, that bald guy.”
* Peter was asked about benefits and drawbacks of being EL’s son. He mentioned lifelong learning about craft that still continues over dinner two or three times most weeks at Peter’s home . . . and difficulty emerging from “his big shadow.” Referring to his new Voices of the Dead revenge drama set in Detroit, Washington and Germany, the son added: It’s not a story he would have written. I had to go all the way to Munich to get away from him.”
See more at http://patch.com/A-qqYB