An 'Out Of Reach' fan...

Not all the reviews for my Steven Seagal screenplay 'Out Of Reach' were entirely complimentary. But this evening I recieved a very kind email from a fan...

His email read:

My name's Marco Freitas and I'm writing from Porto Alegre, in the very south of Brazil.

Just thought it would be a cool idea to say hi to u and commend you on an excellent job writing OUT OF REACH (i've seen it twice).

Um abraço (Portuguese for A BIG HUG)...MARCO

Thanks for your support Marco. It is very appreciated, and a big hug back...

VISIT Marco's Site

 

Remembering London back in the day...

The process of turning Trip City into a screenplay has made me revisit a great deal about London, and the places I used to go (in my head at least). It's very much made me focus on the nightclub culture that I left behind, almost twelve years ago. I still keep in touch with a few of my old crew, especially Sean McLusky and Michael Holden... Sad to say, a lot of the old venues have been closed down. I even heard that the WAG CLUB on Wardour Street had been converted into a Bhangra Disco.

All that being said, for anyone who remembers, the likes of Love Ranch (at Maximus, on Leciester Square) and Merry England (at the Cafe De Paris) were indeed landmark events in British Club Culture. We would see everyone on the opening nights: Shane McGowan (from The Pogues), Mick Jones (from the Clash), Paul Rutherford (from Frankie Goes To Hollywood), and even Bjork (who came to the opening night of Merry England)....

That night I was 'doing the door' with Reece Sandell. Reece was in a sharp suit, but me and Sean were in full Cavalier Drag, to fit in with the Merry England theme. Our costumes were rented from 'Angels.' Mine had allegedly been worn by Oliver Reed, in the late '70's production of The Three Musketeers. It was a terrific night. One I will always remember, not least for an atmosphere fuelled on endless supplies of Special-K and the like.

The picture above is me in the lobby with Bjork. Margie always has a chuckle about this picture. So do I. My facial hair was at its' most esoteric peak at that point...

Anyway, you should support Sean McLusky's record label '1234 Records.' To some he is a great pioneer in the business of music and nightclubs... Well, he always was to me, at least...

VISIT 1234 Records
VISIT Sean McLusky's Sonic Mook Experimet

Trip City... The screenplay... Finally hitting my stride...

Adapting a book into a screenplay is hard. I only found this out when I started to adapt Trip City. The task seems to be compounded by the fact that I wrote the book fifteen years ago. And it's a London novel, and I haven't actually been back to London for ten years. But tonight something happened. I would use the word magical, but magical sounds too meta-physical. What happened was simple really. I could actually see this as a finished screenplay. A good screenplay. That excited me, and I don't get excited so easily. It was as if the prose and dialogue actually became poignant, and had meaning to me again.

It's my goal to finish the screenplay by a week on Wednesday. The 26th. If you read some subsequent posts you might even find out why 1/26/05 is an important date for me. Anyhow, tonight, somehow I regained my faith in my own ability. I don't mean to sound arrogant. But right now I don't care even if I do... If you can remember why you write, if you remember that thrill, things fall into place. It happened to me. It can happen to you. And believe me, if you keep writing, despite all the bullshit, and all the distractions, it will happen to you. Perseverance is the answer. It is the only answer. So hold tight, and persevere. Writing can be magical. It is for me tonight. I'm finally back in my stride. It's a good place to be.

Roll on 2005. Roll on Trip City. Right now I'm unstoppable!!!

BUY Trip City The Novel

Remembering Eddie Little...

I first met Eddie Little in 1997. I'd just got a new fax machine, and Jerry Stahl passed on my number to Eddie. After a short phone call, I recieved a 10 page fax. The first ten pages of 'Another Day In Paradise,' in manuscript form. It was early days, still I published those ten pages in a magazine called 'Men's Perspective.' After that me and Eddie became firm friends. He was easy to like. He was the real thing - a gentlemanly villain straight from the pages of an old Mickey Spillane novella.

Last night, Margie drove me down Beverly, and we passed the Bevonshire Motel. Eddie had stayed there. I think he stayed there close to the end. It's no great mystery why we fell-out. And for those who know the story, it's obvious why anyone would part ways, even with a friend, in that sort of situation. Still, I'm sorry that we lost touch.

I hadn't spoke to Eddie in several years...

Me and Margie were in Skylight Books, and she spotted a copy of 'Steel Toes' (his second novel). I was mentioned in the flyleaf, on the thanks page... It reads "Trevor Miller - M.I.A." After some prodding from Marge, I decided I should probably get in contact with Ed. A week or two passed. I was in the parking lot of Franchise Pictures with Tracee Stanley (en route to a meeting). That was when my cell-phone rang. Dave Basulto was on the other end...

"Have you seen the LA Times today?" He asked.

Eddie's obituary was in the Newspaper that morning.

I planned on going to the Memorial Service, but I didn't. I guess there would've been too many other guys there that I didn't want to see. All that aside. There are still many places I pass, and think of Eddie. Places like the Bevonshire, especially the likes of Victor's Diner, near Beachwood Canyon....

I remember sitting in the parking lot of Victor's, and Eddie asked "what should I call my book?" We would often joke about L.A., and being broke. He'd always say; "Ah well... Another Day in Paradise..." That's where the name of the book came from. In retrospect, they were good times. Some fun. Some desperate. But life was always full of surprises when you were with Eddie...

I guess I just miss my friend.

Welcome to my new Journal...

I'm new to blogspot, so I'm just getting the hang of this...

Thanks

Visit my site: trevormiller.net