Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Towtruck Boogie And The EatAnter




*****
EPISODE 45

Towtruck Girl
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong." - H.L. Mencken

*****

Chris and I sat in the Black Whale, morosely contemplating the swordfish mounted above the bar. One shiny glass eye glared back at us accusingly.

"No matter which way you move your head," Chris observed, "it keeps staring directly at you. Kind of like the Mona Lisa, but with scales and a big fucking nose."

"Would you call that a Giaconda kind of look?" I asked. "Or a grimace of sheer terror?"

Chris rattled the ice in his empty glass to signal the barkeep for more Scotch. "He looks like I feel," he said. "Like a writer who has been hammering away at a book with his partner for almost three fucking years, and now that the end is in sight, they're flat out of god damned money."

"Jesus, guys, I can take the hint," the bartender said as he swept up our empty glasses. "The House is buying the next round."

"It's a good thing, too," Chris said. "I was afraid we'd have to go call our agent sober. Another scotch will make him seem like a little bit less of an asshole."

At this point in the game, we were repped (as Variety would put it) by the William Morris Agency, a Misadventure I'll save for another time because Chris and I had bigger problems that day.

"That's a total waste," I said. "They'll just try to stall by sending us out on cattle calls, then clip us for ten percent when we finally land our own job with no help from them."

In those days, the Writers Guild was trying to encourage the Free Lance market for their members by requiring that shows meet with a certain number of non-staff writers every season, whether they bought their stories or not. This quota system was easily met by cattle calls - scores of writers sent by their agents to meet with the producers en-masse in studio theaters.

Chris and I avoided them at all cost. Not only was it demeaning and unlikely to produce work, but there are few things more terrible - or smelly - than being jammed into a room packed with hungry, fear-soaked writers.

My partner nodded agreement. "The main problem is that we've left it too late," he said. "We should have seen this coming and hit the bricks a month ago."

Bottom line: It would likely take several weeks to land a gig. Then it would be many weeks more before we got paid. Studios were (and are) notorious late payers. Sure, if they took too long they might be fined by the Guild. But the fine was so small, no gimlet-eyed Business Affairs Boss worth his cash flow gave a shit.

Here's how we had (once again) found ourselves mired in the money mess: As mentioned in these MisAdventures before, our standard MO was to sell the hell out of scripts, and when we had enough money stashed, we'd take the phone off the hook and write books. This had worked okay thus far for the Sten Series.

But our Vietnam novel - A Reckoning For Kings - was a different matter. It was a tough book: for the first time in fiction we were telling the story of the war from both sides. The idea was to go hey diddle-diddle, right-down-the-middle and let the readers make up their own minds about the war. To that end we had over thirty major characters and fully half of them were Vietnamese.

Chris and I were betting our literary futures on the book. We were certain that once it was published our professional lives would be changed forever.

Any round-heeled old pro reading this will accuse us of smoking funny cigarettes. And he'd be correct, although we usually stuck to scotch and soda. (easy on the soda - too much sodium)

As it happened, however, young and dumb as we were it played out as we'd hoped. After Reckoning was published in 1987 - and especially after the paperback was issued a couple of years later - we were able to start dropping Hollywood out of the picture and rely on books to make our living. (And Reckoning turned into The Shannon Trilogy.) 

But getting there was a hellacious grind. We'd been hard at work on the novel for nearly three years. When we were about two-thirds done we thought we had enough money to turn off the phones and complete the book. Then we could turn them on again and sell scripts until Reckoning and Sten rescued us. Unfortunately, we had fallen short of that goal.

And now we were agonizingly close to the end of the book while perching perilously on the edge of financial disaster.

I polished off my drink, handed over my credit card for further bruising and said, "Well, partner mine, although it pains me terribly to say this, it's time to put the book aside and get a job Sha-Na-Na."

As we slid off our barstools, Chris said, "Maybe let's skip out the agent and go directly to the source."

"Might speed things up," I agreed. "We can make a list of everybody we know and then try our hand at a little telemarketing Hollywood style."

I was living in Venice Beach, practically across the street from the Black Whale, and in no time we were hunched over our respective phones, sucker lists at our elbows, dialing for dollars.

The pitch we chose was nakedly avaricious. If a secretary answered we'd say, "Hi, (Jeannie, or Crystal or Kimberly) is (Frank, Joe, or Bernie) anywhere around?"

If he wasn't, we'd say, "Tell him Bunch and Cole called to scream: 'Help Us, Mr. Wizard!!! Save your favorite starving artists from getting kicked out of their garret.'"

If the guy was in, we'd say, "It's like this, (Frank, Joe, or Bernie)we are weeks away from finishing our Vietnam book and we are flat, fucking out of money. Buy something from us so we can finish the book. It'll be your contribution to World Peace and American Literature. And we promise you'll be remembered in the acknowledgments."

You might be surprised to learn that cynical old Hollywood was overwhelmingly positive. Really. Of course, some people weren't in the position to buy. We were very late in the season and most shows were scripted up. But we were promised back-up scripts when that time came around. Others were in the process of pitching new series to the Networks and said if the Network bought, so would they.

So, there was promised money. And there was promised promised money. But no promised promised promised money. (Three promises equaled Cha-Ching!)

Finally, we came to Al Godfrey, our self-appointed producer/mentor. We both talked to him via the speaker phone. Unfortunately, Al was between jobs, but he had this to offer. "Have you tried Freilich?"

"The EatAnter?" Chris said. (He'd dubbed Jeff Freilich The EatAnter after the character in the BC comic strip for reasons previously explained.)

Godfrey laughed. He thought Jeff was an EatAnter too. Then he said, "He and Stu Sheslow have some sort of development deal in the works at Fox. (This was 20th Century Fox before the Rupert Murdoch era.) And I hear they're having script trouble."

"Trouble as in pay us immediate money to get out of, trouble?" Chris asked. "Or, just the usual EatAnter dithering chaos trouble?"

"Oh, there's money there," Godfrey said. "Go get it boys."

We called The EatAnter and sonofabitch if he didn't sound glad to hear from us. "Hey, guys," he said in that cheery EatAnter's voice of his, "I was just thinking about you two."

"Well, marriage is definitely out," Chris said. "But we might consider a brief affair."

The EatAnter laughed, but I knew him to be an overly sensitive soul who might not really be finding Chris funny. So, quick like a bunny rabbit I jumped in and gave him our "Contribution to American Literature" pitch.

"No shit," Freilich said. "You guys are really close to being done?"

"All we need is one decent, quick-paying gig," I said. "And your name will be writ large in the Acknowledgements." (And we were as good as our word. Buy the book and check it out and see for yourself.)

"As a matter of fact," Freilich said, "I've got a two-hour pilot rewrite that has to be done right away."

"How right away?" Chris asked.

"Yesterday," Freilich said.

"We can do that," I said.

Chris said, "How much does it pay?"

Without hesitation, Jeff said, "Thirty-five thousand dollars."

Chris said, "We'll do it."

Jeff said, "Don't you want to know what it's called."

"Not particularly," Chris said.

"Well, I'll tell you anyway," Freilich said. "It's called Towtruck Boogie."

There was a long silence from our end. We could tell from the way he said it that he wasn't shitting us. It really did carry the butt-cheeks clenching, no class at all, title of "Towtruck Boogie." Chris and I looked at each other. What should we do? Say fuck off and die? Or, close our eyes and think of Literature?

"Guys?" The EatAnter pressed. "Guys?"

Chris said, "We'll do it anyway."

And we did.

And yeah, William Morris got its ten percent.

* * *

Postscript: Towtruck Boogie proved to be a proposed TV series "inspired" by the hit cult movie, Repo Man. But this was the P#ick-teasing 80s, man, so they took out all the sex, drugs, rock and roll and the aliens, then told us to go write the sucker. When we were done, Greg Mayday, head of TV development at Fox said it was the best pilot script of a shitty idea that he had ever seen. Thumbs down for the series, thumbs up for further work from Mayday and Fox for Bunch & Cole

NEXT: LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE 'S' WORD

*****
LUCKY IN CYPRUS:

A True Story About A Boy,
A Teacher, An Earthquake,
Some Terrorists And The CIA

LUCKY IN CYPRUS is a coming-of-age story set in the Middle East during the height of the Cold War. An American teenager – son of a CIA operative – is inspired by grand events and a Greek Cypriot teacher. He witnesses earthquakes and riots and terrorist attacks, but in the end it is his teacher’s gentle lessons that keep him whole.
****
THE AUDIOBOOK DEBUTS

Note to Audible.com subscribers: Lucky In Cyprus will be available there in a few weeks. Save a credit!


Meanwhile, here's where to get the paperback & Kindle editions worldwide: 


Here's what readers say about Lucky In Cyprus:
  • "Bravo, Allan! When I finished Lucky In Cyprus I wept." - Julie Mitchell, Hot Springs, Texas
  • "Lucky In Cyprus brought back many memories... A wonderful book. So many shadows blown away!" - Freddy & Maureen Smart, Episkopi,Cyprus. 
  • "... (Reading) Lucky In Cyprus has been a humbling, haunting, sobering and enlightening experience..." - J.A. Locke, Bookloons.com
  • *****
TWO NEW AUDIOBOOKS ONLY $4.95!

FREEDOM BIRD: 3 GI'S HOME FROM VIETNAM
AND
A RECKONING OF KINGS: A NOVEL OF VIETNAM 



*****

*****

Can't wait to read the blog each week to find out what happens next? No problem. Click the following link and buy the book. 


Tales Sometimes Tall, but always true, of Allan Cole's years in Hollywood with his late partner, Chris Bunch. How a naked lady almost became our first agent. How we survived La-La Land with only the loss of half our brain cells. How Bunch & Cole became the ultimate Fix-It 
Boys. How an alleged Mafia Don was very, very good to us. The guy who cornered the market on movie rocks. Andy Warhol's Fire Extinguisher. The Real Stars Of Hollywood. Why they don't make million dollar movies. See The Seven Pi$$ing Dwarfs. Learn: how to kill a "difficult" actor… And much, much more.

Here's where you can buy it worldwide in both paperback and Kindle editions:

U.S. .............................................France
United Kingdom ...........................Spain
Canada ........................................ Italy
Germany ..................................... Japan
Brazil .......................................... India


WANT A REAL TREAT?
Hear voice artist Colin Hussey's 
Bring all the stories and people 
To life in the audiobook version
Of My Hollywood MisAdventures.







STEN OMNIBUS TRILOGY
MAKES ITS AMERICAN DEBUT

Ever since my British publisher put all eight novels in the Sten series in three omnibus editions, American readers have been clamoring for equal treatment. 

Well, my American publisher – Wildside Books – was listening and has issued all three omnibus volumes on this side of the Atlantic. Here are the links to buy the books:

THE TIMURA TRILOGY: When The Gods Slept, Wolves Of The Gods and The Gods Awaken. This best selling fantasy series now available as trade paperbacks, e-books (in all varieties) and as audiobooks. Visit The Timura Trilogy page for links to all the editions. 

NEWLY REVISED KINDLE EDITIONS OF THE TIMURA TRILOGY NOW AVAILABLE. (1) When The Gods Slept;(2) Wolves Of The Gods; (3) The Gods Awaken.

*****






A NATION AT WAR WITH ITSELF: In Book Three Of The Shannon Trilogy, young Patrick Shannon is the heir-apparent to the Shannon fortune, but murder and betrayal at a family gathering send him fleeing into the American frontier, with only the last words of a wise old woman to arm him against what would come. And when the outbreak of the Civil War comes he finds himself fighting on the opposite side of those he loves the most. In The Wars Of The Shannons we see the conflict, both on the battlefield and the homefront, through the eyes of Patrick and the members of his extended Irish-American family as they struggle to survive the conflict that ripped the new nation apart, and yet, offered a dim beacon of hope.


*****

NEW: THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF

THE HATE PARALLAX


What if the Cold War never ended -- but continued for a thousand years? Best-selling authors Allan Cole (an American) and Nick Perumov (a Russian) spin a mesmerizing "what if?" tale set a thousand years in the future, as an American and a Russian super-soldier -- together with a beautiful American detective working for the United Worlds Police -- must combine forces to defeat a secret cabal ... and prevent a galactic disaster! This is the first - and only - collaboration between American and Russian novelists. Narrated by John Hough. Click the title links below for the trade paperback and kindle editions. (Also available at iTunes.)

*****
THE SPYMASTER'S DAUGHTER:

A novel by Allan and his daughter, Susan


After laboring as a Doctors Without Borders physician in the teaming refugee camps and minefields of South Asia, Dr. Ann Donovan thought she'd seen Hell as close up as you can get. And as a fifth generation CIA brat, she thought she knew all there was to know about corruption and betrayal. But then her father - a legendary spymaster - shows up, with a ten-year-old boy in tow. A brother she never knew existed. Then in a few violent hours, her whole world is shattered, her father killed and she and her kid brother are one the run with hell hounds on their heels. They finally corner her in a clinic in Hawaii and then all the lies and treachery are revealed on one terrible, bloody storm- ravaged night.



BASED ON THE CLASSIC STEN SERIES by Allan Cole & Chris Bunch: Fresh from their mission to pacify the Wolf Worlds, Sten and his Mantis Team encounter a mysterious ship that has been lost among the stars for thousands of years. At first, everyone aboard appears to be long dead. Then a strange Being beckons, pleading for help. More disturbing: the presence of AM2, a strategically vital fuel tightly controlled by their boss - The Eternal Emperor. They are ordered to retrieve the remaining AM2 "at all costs." But once Sten and his heavy worlder sidekick, Alex Kilgour, board the ship they must dare an out of control defense system that attacks without warning as they move through dark warrens filled with unimaginable horrors. When they reach their goal they find that in the midst of all that death are the "seeds" of a lost civilization. 

*****

TALES OF THE BLUE MEANIE
NOW AN AUDIOBOOK!

Venice Boardwalk Circa 1969
In the depths of the Sixties and The Days Of Rage, a young newsman, accompanied by his pregnant wife and orphaned teenage brother, creates a Paradise of sorts in a sprawling Venice Beach community of apartments, populated by students, artists, budding scientists and engineers lifeguards, poets, bikers with  a few junkies thrown in for good measure. The inhabitants come to call the place “Pepperland,” after the Beatles movie, “Yellow Submarine.” Threatening this paradise is  "The Blue Meanie,"  a crazy giant of a man so frightening that he eventually even scares himself.

No comments:

Post a Comment