American History

[madupont]

weezo
          I suggest that you check the PEN Award winner E.P.Jones
at Amistad Press.  Almost everybody else you have met here at EfE web-site were originally readers of Jones' book at the nytimes.com Book Forums (mostly there to support the books industry, as a back up to their own Literary pages in the Sunday edition of The New York Times; Book Review).
                                By ironic happenstance, the moderator at the nytimes.com Book Forums, happened to do away with the African-American Literature forum(saying almost prophetically but, for him it was a matter of convenience,that "Anyway it will just be  categorically
Literature, inevitably".  Or, something of the kind....? That would depend on which readers/posters bothered to suggest and read books by African-American writers. This was still several years in advance of the Obama-Biden campaign).
                                           It was but a matter of weeks before banner headlines in The New York Times announced that American Novelists were voting on the Best New Novelist in the last 25 years; and a jury of her white peers elected Toni Morrison(who had of course already won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, just before she arrived to teach at Princeton campus. I moved out to Hopewell from Lawrenceville Prep School neighborhood, to cogitate some more on Lindbergh where there was a direct view from my apartment to his former air-strip above the lumber yard (that kidnapping case should have been relatively easy to solve, if Schwartzkopf* had really thought about it)
*Norman Schwartzkopf grew up in a mansion just opposite the Lawrenceville campus,during or after his father was the State Police official directing the Lindbergh case. As a friend in the nytimes.com Western European forum, who had been raised in East Windsor, said to me--"I can just picture little Norman, with a cooking pot on his head and bed sheet off the clotheline for a cape, playing Crusader behind the hedges across from the original Colonial  buildings on the Lincoln Hwy."
                     The commentary that I remember best from the hub-bub that took place like a free for all, in the postings about the article was a fellow poster at EfE who contended she had never met any Negroes who spoke like those for which  Morrison had written the dialogue.  I may have got lost in a plot line or two when I read: Paradise but in the next fifteen years I greatly appreciated the rhythms of the speech patterns the writer had employed after her historical research (I still think that her novel, about the women abiding in the old hotel at a North Carolina former vacation resort for the Black middle-class: LOVE    ought to be made into a movie). The writer, herself, is now touring Europe with the production of her drama: Desdemona.

[weezo]

Maddie,

It would have been much better if you had put your post on the fiction forum, since you are talking about a fiction writer.

If you remember, I am the lady who prefers reading history to fiction. This year has been an exception, as I've read all the Kay Scarpetta and Alex Cross books  while my cataracts ripened, were removed, and I was on steroids which did a number on my memory and comprehension. The easier reading of mystery novels met my need. Now, I'm back to history, having given the two collections to a shipment going to the Philippines to fill the empty shelves of a library.

Of interest, James Patterson, on Facebook, is getting into young readers. His recent release of Middle School seems to have opened eyes at that age level to the delights of reading. I replied, directing him to my Personalized Stories online, and, since he said yesterday he is perusing the great number of responses, am a tiny bit hopeful he will check out my work and perhaps contribute his immense talent to the need.

With a birthday coming up soon, I am studying what the Kindle family has to offer. I just finished reading a huge paperback book that has my hands still in pain and cramping for the effort. The book is more world history than American, and I still need to check out the science he bases his history on before I decide  if it's worthy of recommendation. But I will wholeheartedly recommend "The Abacus and the Cross", again in world history (Y1K) .... which with your Catholic background, you may find interesting.

Again, returning to Anita Wills. Her expertise is in Black Geneology, and that is what she writes in her books. Her books BEG for a good editor, but she has a stubborn streak <grin> .. But her research is excellent!! She and I did an afternoon in Fredericksburg before she did a book signing that evening. She has no reluctance to ring a doorbell and ask, when she can't find a street name to verify what she's read. She was looking for a street on the waterfront that disappeared when they built projects on the site. Her family stories, the product of her interest in geneology, are non-typical for African Americans. Majority of her ancestors were Free Blacks, but one in the mix was a slave on George Washington's plantation who is sometimes mentioned in the literature ...

Maddie, I think you and Anita could be good for each other! Not to mention, you can keep her up-to-date on goings-on in Lancaster, or her, you, as the case may be. As I said, you can find her on Facebook. She also has some groups, forums, a blog, and an weekly Internet radio broadcast where she discusses provocative subjects ....

[bosox18d]

Posting just to put Am History back atop this ahole spammer.They seem to have banned him and he came back with a like name.If they don't delete the spam forums though the forums will be full of this shit before long.

[madupont]

Hint : Neither Edward P.Jones nor  Toni  Morrison  have written Fiction that was not thoroughly based on actual History and historic fact.  I recall
Jones doing five years of research  as a journalist(he was in fact a journalist at Richmond), with a story in mind before he tied it all together.
Slavery in Virginia, the relatively unknown existence of Black slave- holders; the male of the pair is, however, inheritor as the son of a white plantation owner.  The intricate life of a very large scale plantation.
       Paddy-rollers. Refugee slaves. Journalist from Canada come to Virginia to get a story and getting one he didn't expect. And much,much more....

One did feel that one was reading well-written fiction although historic fictional literature. For which Jones won the PEN award.

However, when it comes to Toni Morrison, there is no denying because while she worked as an editor at a publishing house, that factor lent itself to the pursuit of historical research.  She quite often begins with something she wants to investigate and with questions in her mind about what some particular situation will involve. She carefully researches until she hits that "Eureka! moment" where she stops appalled. Then the formation of the novel proceeds in piling up. This used to be out at Canandaigua, in the vicinity of the Finger Lakes region where she had her home.     I  recall my sister-in-law telling me that she drove through there every day when she took a job at Exxon, until she worked out a deal with her girls who were old enough to be trusted and to manage, that she would drive down from Ontario and stay for the better part of the work week  at Canandaigua, after which she drove back home across the border. Thankfully, this was in the period before the post-9/11 crisis.

Morrison's work continued within her own household(after having been an editor in  Manhattan)but, eventually, there came a crisis when she lost an entire novel  because her house burned down. The thought does not cross your mind! But for those to whom it does,that has led to securing finished work or accumulating work in a safety-box at the Bank.
I have never found a mention where she actually names that novel or indicates what it was about, a novel whose name we didn't  need because we would never have the chance to read it. But it is like the death of a very young child. Oops! that is Joan Didion and I haven't gotten up the stamina to start reading it, in my large print edition.

But there is no denying that books of this kind, as literature, do not fall into the  category of being entirely fiction sans history. They have to have that basis in fact, as does Joan Didion's account of going through the dying of her only daughter and becoming frightened at knowing she is now completely alone and aging in this world.

[FlyingVProd]

America and Redemption

One thing that Alexis de Tocqueville loved about America was that people could leave their old lives behind and could start fresh in America, no matter how they lived in Europe, whether they were poor, or in prison, or whatever, they could redeem themselves and could start fresh in America without anyone even knowing their past, their past no longer mattered and it became all about what they did in their new life in America, they could rise and could be respected and could have a good new life. And that coincides with what the Bible says in Proverbs pertaining when you become a Christian and leave your old life behind and begin your new life as a Christian.

In Proverbs it says to confess to God, and to ask forgiveness, and to repent, and to change your behavior and to never commit those sins again, and it says to keep it between you and God, and it says that you should not tell other people about the sins of your past, as God wants you to be a good and beautiful person as a Christian and God wants other people to see you and to want to be like you, God wants to bless you, God wants you to be a shining example, and God does not want people to forever hold the sins of your past against you, God wants to redeem you and wants you to have a good new life as a Christian. In Proverbs it says that the evil people are always looking for ways to make you look bad as a Christian, they want to tear you down and throw mud on you, they do not want you to be reborn and beautiful, so Proverbs says to keep your mouth shut about the sins of your past, and do not give the evil people anything that they can use against you.

Many people came to America from Europe and started fresh, and Alexis de Tocqueville loved that about America, they kept their mouths shut about their past, and they started good new lives. America was a land of redemption, and Alexis de Tocqueville loved that. And it fully goes along with what the Bible says.

Tout les meilleur,

Tony V.

[FlyingVProd]

I will post this here in case any of you are into the arts, and it also pertains to a little slice of history...

Here is an acting scene on You Tube of me doing the Second Chorus from Anouilh's Antigone. My Uncle Dennis was my cameraman. I hope that you enjoy it. I will make more You Tube videos soon.

"Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles's classic produced in the context of the anti-fascist French resistance, is Jean Anouilh's (1910–1987) most often-produced work today. Antigone premiered in Paris in 1944, but Anouilh had written his tale of lone rebellion against the state two years earlier, inspired by an act of resistance during Paris's occupation by the Nazis. In August 1942, a young man named Paul Collette fired at and wounded a group of directors during a meeting of the collaborationist Légion des volontaires français. Collette did not belong to a Resistance network or organized political group, but acted entirely alone and in full knowledge of his certain death. For Anouilh, Collette's solitary act—at once heroic, gratuitous, and futile—captured the essence of tragedy and demanded an immediate revival of Antigone. Aware of Anouilh's thinly veiled attack on the Vichy government, the Nazis censored Antigone immediately upon its release. It premiered two years later at the Théâtre de l'Atelier in Paris under the direction of André Barsacq, a few months before Paris' liberation. The play starred (his wife) Monelle Valentin as the doomed princess."

Here is a link for the video:

http://youtu.be/2NnXQpikxyk

Tout les meilleur,

Tony V.

[weezo]

I will post this here in case any of you are into the arts, and it also pertains to a little slice of history...

Here is an acting scene on You Tube of me doing the Second Chorus from Anouilh's Antigone. My Uncle Dennis was my cameraman. I hope that you enjoy it. I will make more You Tube videos soon.

Here is a link for the video:

http://youtu.be/2NnXQpikxyk

Tout les meilleur,

Tony V.

Tony, that was as stiff as a Puritan! I watched it without sound, and nothing, but moving lips in a still life!

Keep working at it ... you need to get into what you're saying and stop reciting your lines ...

[FlyingVProd]

I will post this here in case any of you are into the arts, and it also pertains to a little slice of history...

Here is an acting scene on You Tube of me doing the Second Chorus from Anouilh's Antigone. My Uncle Dennis was my cameraman. I hope that you enjoy it. I will make more You Tube videos soon.

Here is a link for the video:

http://youtu.be/2NnXQpikxyk

Tout les meilleur,

Tony V.

Tony, that was as stiff as a Puritan! I watched it without sound, and nothing, but moving lips in a still life!

Keep working at it ... you need to get into what you're saying and stop reciting your lines ...

Those were all choices that I made, and it seemed right for that scene. And the Greeks moved even less than I did. Plus, my uncle Dennis was my cameraman and when I did scenes which were too passionate he told me to control it more and reel it in, he said that it was too much if I got too passionate on it, he told me that less is more, and so I backed off on it. Oh well, it is what it is. And I will probably never make it as an actor anyway, my best chance is to become a producer, I am getting older, and I am not young and handsome anymore, so right now I am focusing on trying to produce a film that I helped to write. I want to produce one film here in Hollywood, and then I want to take the money that I earn and I want to move to Italy, I want to buy a vineyard and winery in Tuscany, and I want to open a production office at Cinecitta and I want to produce love stories in Italy. I love acting, and I studied and trained hard, but I became really serious about it in 1992, and this is 2012, and I never made it, and now I am getting older, and I doubt that I will ever make it with my acting, I am no Johnny Depp, far from it, but as a producer I can hire Johnny Depp and let him do the acting for me, my best chance with my looks is producing.

Salute,

Tony V.

[weezo]

I will post this here in case any of you are into the arts, and it also pertains to a little slice of history...

Here is an acting scene on You Tube of me doing the Second Chorus from Anouilh's Antigone. My Uncle Dennis was my cameraman. I hope that you enjoy it. I will make more You Tube videos soon.

Here is a link for the video:

http://youtu.be/2NnXQpikxyk

Tout les meilleur,

Tony V.

Tony, that was as stiff as a Puritan! I watched it without sound, and nothing, but moving lips in a still life!

Keep working at it ... you need to get into what you're saying and stop reciting your lines ...

Those were all choices that I made, and it seemed right for that scene. And the Greeks moved even less than I did. Plus, my uncle Dennis was my cameraman and when I did scenes which were too passionate he told me to control it more and reel it in, he said that it was too much if I got too passionate on it, he told me that less is more, and so I backed off on it. Oh well, it is what it is. And I will probably never make it as an actor anyway, my best chance is to become a producer, I am getting older, and I am not young and handsome anymore, so right now I am focusing on trying to produce a film that I helped to write. I want to produce one film here in Hollywood, and then I want to take the money that I earn and I want to move to Italy, I want to buy a vineyard and winery in Tuscany, and I want to open a production office at Cinecitta and I want to produce love stories in Italy. I love acting, and I studied and trained hard, but I became really serious about it in 1992, and this is 2012, and I never made it, and now I am getting older, and I doubt that I will ever make it with my acting, I am no Johnny Depp, far from it, but as a producer I can hire Johnny Depp and let him do the acting for me, my best chance with my looks is producing.

Salute,

Tony V.

What you say, especially from your uncle, is that you are not striking the balance between the two extremes.

I'm not quite sure what the producer's role is, although I understand the director role ... Is it within your skill comfort zone?

[FlyingVProd]

I will post this here in case any of you are into the arts, and it also pertains to a little slice of history...

Here is an acting scene on You Tube of me doing the Second Chorus from Anouilh's Antigone. My Uncle Dennis was my cameraman. I hope that you enjoy it. I will make more You Tube videos soon.

Here is a link for the video:

http://youtu.be/2NnXQpikxyk

Tout les meilleur,

Tony V.

Tony, that was as stiff as a Puritan! I watched it without sound, and nothing, but moving lips in a still life!

Keep working at it ... you need to get into what you're saying and stop reciting your lines ...

Those were all choices that I made, and it seemed right for that scene. And the Greeks moved even less than I did. Plus, my uncle Dennis was my cameraman and when I did scenes which were too passionate he told me to control it more and reel it in, he said that it was too much if I got too passionate on it, he told me that less is more, and so I backed off on it. Oh well, it is what it is. And I will probably never make it as an actor anyway, my best chance is to become a producer, I am getting older, and I am not young and handsome anymore, so right now I am focusing on trying to produce a film that I helped to write. I want to produce one film here in Hollywood, and then I want to take the money that I earn and I want to move to Italy, I want to buy a vineyard and winery in Tuscany, and I want to open a production office at Cinecitta and I want to produce love stories in Italy. I love acting, and I studied and trained hard, but I became really serious about it in 1992, and this is 2012, and I never made it, and now I am getting older, and I doubt that I will ever make it with my acting, I am no Johnny Depp, far from it, but as a producer I can hire Johnny Depp and let him do the acting for me, my best chance with my looks is producing.

Salute,

Tony V.

What you say, especially from your uncle, is that you are not striking the balance between the two extremes.

I'm not quite sure what the producer's role is, although I understand the director role ... Is it within your skill comfort zone?

I love it all, I would have already been doing it all if I had the chance, I would love to act, direct, and produce, but it is all about getting the chance to do the work, it is a very expensive industry, and it is hard to get in, and you have to be really great or you will never get the chance.

On the issue of producing, the producer is the boss of the project, the producer finds the script, puts the whole team together, makes the project, and then sets up the distribution and marketing, etc, the producer is in charge of it all, and it is all about getting the money, if you can convince a company like Miramax to back you on the money, then you just hire great people to help you, and the rest is easy, and then once you are wealthy enough to produce movies on your own then you have it made. Certainly it takes talent to be a great producer, but a big part of it is getting the money and hiring great people to help you.

When I first started trying to get my own production company going, I asked Hal Needham for advice (Hal directed Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, The Cannonball Run, and other films), and Hal told me that the hardest part is getting the money, the rest is easy, and once you get the money you can hire great people to help, etc.

With my company I have found that getting the money is indeed the hardest part. At first I almost got a great break, as the first person whom I went to in order to get the money to make a film was Hugh Hefner, Hef liked the one pager, and he had me fax the script to him. Hef read and liked the script, and Hef said that he would put up the money to make my movie if someone he knew and trusted would direct it. So, based on his work on "The Doors," starring Val Kilmer, I suggested Oliver Stone. Hef said, "Yes," that if Oliver Stone would direct my movie Hef would put up the money. So, I contacted Oliver Stone, and I told him that Hugh Hefner would put up the money to make my movie if he would direct it, and Oliver had me fax my script to him. Well, Oliver read my script and said, "No," he said the script just was not for him, and when Oliver said "No," Hef backed out, and I lost my backing. That was as close as I have come to getting the movie made.

I am still trying.

I would love to get Lindsay Lohan to play the lead role in my film, and I sent the script to Miramax to try to get the money to make my movie, we will see what happens.

Here is a link to a page with info on the script I have been trying to get made into a film:

http://tinyurl.com/krrxk8


All the best,

Tony V.

[FlyingVProd]

Here is the Wikipedia page about film producing...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_producer

Salute,

Tony V.

[weezo]

Here is the Wikipedia page about film producing...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_producer

Salute,

Tony V.

Thanks, Tony, First paragraph:

"A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant hosts while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed. Many film producers are also talent (directors, screenwriters, actors) but that is not always the case, as it is the only profession in entertainment that does not require a specific talent, but rather a powerful network of allies."

I can see why Hefner would like the plot and Oliver Stone would say NO. Did you ask other directors?

[FlyingVProd]

Here is the Wikipedia page about film producing...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_producer

Salute,

Tony V.

Thanks, Tony, First paragraph:

"A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant hosts while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed. Many film producers are also talent (directors, screenwriters, actors) but that is not always the case, as it is the only profession in entertainment that does not require a specific talent, but rather a powerful network of allies."

I can see why Hefner would like the plot and Oliver Stone would say NO. Did you ask other directors?

I sent it to a few directors unsolicited, and I did not receive any response. My plan now is to try to get Lindsay Lohan to star in my movie, and then I want to ask her who her dream director for the movie would be, and let Lindsay help me when picking the director, and that way we are all living the dream, I can put the whole team together by asking everyone to tell me who they want to work with.

Salute,

Tony V.

[bosox18d]

This is the American History Forum.You two want the Village Idiots forum.......

[FlyingVProd]

This is the American History Forum.You two want the Village Idiots forum.......

Fk you, you do not contribute anything to the discussions, and you are the idiot.