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The Pressure of Being a Legacy Writer
Following in the footsteps of a famous writer and grandfather seemed a daunting challenge, until I realized it wasn’t
The bar was set before I was born
The writing gene pool was pretty deep
My parents were wonderful writers, and through their encouragement and by their examples, my path as a writer was clear before I entered my teens. But following in the longer footsteps of a four-time Oscar-winning screen-writing grandfather really set the pace.
A gift from a friend illuminated the model I was following
A friend of mine emailed me a few weeks ago to let me know he had found a book he thought I might enjoy, one that could also be valuable to my research as I work on a biography. As any biographer will tell you, no piece of research is too little to ignore, and when my friend offered to send the book, I took him up on his kindness. The book, Hollywood Director: the Career of Mitchell Leisen, published in 1973 by David Chierichetti as part of the Curtis Film series, was, indeed, a treasure trove of interviews and background information about one of Hollywood’s greatest directors. Among Leisen’s long line of films…
