SYNCHRONICITY is a sneaky fellow, tonight it zapped me out of my laser focus in writing my new book to turn around and actually LOOK at the TV and PBS Tavis Smiley show blogged by Joyce Schwarz @ Hollywood2020.blogs.com.
Why? Well, I heard the words Cleveland, Ohio (where you faithful readers know I am from)and then I saw one of my favorite LA TIMES columnists on the tube for the first time. There was Tavis with this gray-haired gent who looks a bit like a college prof and boy was I surprised that it was Steve Lopez -- now author of the new book "THE SOLOIST" about the life of homeless musician Nathaniel Ayers who was originally boarn in my home town Cleveland. Funny, I always thought that Lopez was Hispanic?
LA TIMES COLUMNIST STEVE LOPEZ, INTERVIEWED BY EVA MARIE SAINT AT TOWN HALL, Los Angeles @ WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA THEATRE 4/17/08.
Anyway, turns out that the book is coming out tomorrow and for those of you not sitting here like me trying to finish your own book -- you might want to head over to the WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA theatrea and see Lopez and Eva Marie Saint at the TOWN HALL tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Steve Lopez, author of "The Soloist: A Lost Dream an Unlikely Friendship and the Redemptive Power of Music," will speak with actress Eva Marie Saint on Thursday, April 17, 2008 at the Writers Guild Theater as part of TOWN HALL's ongoing Writers Bloc series. For more info go to: visit www.townhall-la.org, Cost: $20.
According to the Town Hall press release online:
Soloist" is an intimate portrait of the gifted violinist Nathaniel Ayers and traces his promising education at Juilliard, his struggles with schizophrenia, and the factors that led to his homelessness in Los Angeles. The book describes the circumstances that prompted their friendship and the author's efforts to improve the musician's life in spite of numerous setbacks.
MORE ON THIS STORY LATER THIS WEEKEND -- Later this week or this weekend-- I'll link you to some great articles I found about the upcoming film adaptation of THE SOLOIST -- it's now being lensed partly in Cleveland-- near the old Hough area -- Carnegie Ave which was in it's heyday in the 60's and 70's when Ayers lived their with his family and attended a special music school. Turns out that Ayers went to Julliard via my undergrad alma mater Ohio University in Athens and then had a sting at Ohio State too. More on all of that later.
HE WRITES ABOUT THE PEOPLE ......Even if you don't remember his name, you've probably read Lopez-- he's the guy who writes about PEOPLE -- interesting people...no the 3 dot Herb Caen kind of journalism, but the day-to-day folks kind of writing that made a newspaper in the past, the media of the people! Lopez is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and the author of three previous novels. He has been an Editor-at-Large for TIME magazine and has also written for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Lopez met Ayers during his work on a LA Times series of columns about Skid Row and homelessness in Los Angeles.
TIME MAGAZINE HAS A GOOD INTERVIEW with Robert Downey Jr. who is portraying Lopez in the upcoming flick of the same name as the book -- THE SOLOIST and Jamie Foxx plays Ayers as an adult. Stay tuned for more clickthroughs on this story. Book sounds fascinating...
Anyway for the kicker as we say in Journalism 101 to the headline on this story-- on the Tavis show Lopez said that Ayers story made him re-think what SUCCESS is -- seems that Ayers has no regrets about his own life. And Lopez who is biding his days at the last of the Third Estate of newspaper journaism was revitalized to his own passion -- writing through this experience.
Nope, it's not as nice a fairy tale as AUGUST RUSH...but it does sound like music to my ears as I finish this book on PICTURING YOUR FUTURE -- and that's another column...hmm that's another blog -- I'll be clicking you through to the new blog next week. Don't worry HOLLYWOOD2020 will continue and head into it's THIRD YEAR next week -- REALLY -- more than 1200 posts ...3 years with you folks and me....zooming along into the new Hollywood and the era of new media. But thank heavens Steve Lopez still walks the beat of writing about real people in a reel world......gotta give the guy some credit...success does benefit by some shoe leather after all! ha
