July 2009 is gone, August now races towards conclusion and I’m thinking about my next adventure. But a haunting ghost of July continues to cause my mind and spirit to be restless. Perhaps more weakness than strength is my proclivity to be sentimental.
A comment on Facebook from my childhood friend Lisa was all that was needed to transport me back to age thirteen and our first game of ping-pong—I loved Lisa all those years ago. I could spend a whole day lying on the grass, staring at the sky, and thinking about her. What if? What if? Neil Young’s voice is singing, “Old man take a look at my life…”
And to further cosset my self-indulgent emotions, July 2009 marked the first anniversary of two significant events in my life, not as significant and pure good as thirteen-year-old love, but significant nonetheless. A year ago, July 2008, my book “Stan Lerner’s Criminal” won the Grand Prize at the 2008 Hollywood Book Festival. And to promote myself as a writer, at the urging of Todd Sims (founder of GrooveTickets and friend of the past), I committed publicly in cyberspace to become a regular blogger. Downtown Oliver Brown was not a thought at this time. In fact it was my blog Erin Brockovich’s Daughter that was the impetus for Oliver. And it was Oliver’s success on Blog Downtown (Eric Richardson’s blog) that made downtownster.com and blogsincity.com inevitable progressions.
I had intended to go on in this vein and revisit the tragedy of “Stan Lerner’s Criminal”, Barnes & Noble, Borders and why an award-winning book is so hard to find or hasn’t been made into a movie—I am often asked these questions. But it’s the first Friday of August and we should all be having a goodtime in the sun…Of course there is more, as brevity is nowhere to be found in my nature—except when it comes to the soul of my wit.
Although much overshadowed by “Stan Lerner’s Criminal”, 2008 was also the year my novella “In Development”, the story of Hollywood’s most powerful and scummiest producer, was released. Recently, literally the last few days, I’ve finished what’s called in the industry, “the polish” of the screen adaptation. So, suffice it to say, that “In Development” is on my mind and I’m thinking that a story of sex, manipulation, lying, betrayal, and murder—otherwise known in Hollywood as a story with a happy ending, might just set a superlative tone for the weekend.
So please read on and enjoy a few chapters of a book from the summer of 2008, “And the seasons they go round and round.”
Prologue
Breakfast at the Peninsula
The Peninsula Hotel ranked among Beverly Hills’ finest establishments. A modest four stories, its cream-colored exterior walls exuded European elegance. The motor court was paved with Tuscan cobblestone and it curved in a half circle around a spectacular yet understated fountain. Stan Peters arrived for breakfast like clockwork Monday thru Friday at 8:00 in either his black Rolls Royce Phantom or his diamond silver Mercedes Benz SL 500.
This particular morning, he was looking more impeccable than usual. The Ermenegildo Zegna boutique on Rodeo Drive had just taken delivery of its handmade suit collection for the fall season the day before. As always, Stan, the store’s best customer and Hollywood’s most powerful movie producer, had been there to pick up each of his 31 new suits. He would repeat this routine at several of the city’s high-end boutiques; rarely did Stan need or bother to wear the same custom-made suit twice.
The hotel’s bell captain, Rick Johnson, was a handsome young man of twenty-five—an aspiring actor. As always, he stepped forward to open Stan’s car door himself, rather than delegate such an important task to a valet. Opening the great producer’s door was not as optimal as being in one of his movies but it was a step in the right direction. Hollywood’s most powerful producer had come to know him by his first name.
The door of the Mercedes opened, as it always did, not requiring any of Stan’s own personal exertion. Continue reading FRIDAY LIGHT BLOG “IN DEVELOPMENT”
