Charlie Carillo's Blog - Posts Tagged "shepherd-avenue"
Hooray for Second Chances!
Have you heard that old story about the prizefighter who believes he hung up his gloves too soon, makes a comeback - and gets knocked down in the first round?
Well, this is the story of a literary comeback, and I'm hoping to take it the full fifteen rounds.
My novel "Shepherd Avenue" was published 31 years ago to a string of good reviews. It's the story of a shy, sheltered ten-year-old boy whose tranquil suburban life is shattered when his mother dies. His dad flips out and heads cross-country - but not before dumping the kid off to spend a wild summer with his Italian-American grandparents in a rough Brooklyn neighborhood.
The New York Times said it had "terrific force," and "Shepherd Avenue" got optioned to the movies a few times. I was lucky enough to get hired to write the script, and the money came in handy when my son was born.
Sadly, the movie wasn't made, the book went out of print, and that was that.
Or was it?
I refused to believe it. I wrote a sequel set fifty years later, "Return To Shepherd Avenue." They liked it at Kensington Books - so now "Shepherd Avenue" is getting new life on April 4th, to be followed by "Return To Shepherd Avenue" in June.
As someone once said, it ain't over 'til it's over. Shepherd Avenue
Well, this is the story of a literary comeback, and I'm hoping to take it the full fifteen rounds.
My novel "Shepherd Avenue" was published 31 years ago to a string of good reviews. It's the story of a shy, sheltered ten-year-old boy whose tranquil suburban life is shattered when his mother dies. His dad flips out and heads cross-country - but not before dumping the kid off to spend a wild summer with his Italian-American grandparents in a rough Brooklyn neighborhood.
The New York Times said it had "terrific force," and "Shepherd Avenue" got optioned to the movies a few times. I was lucky enough to get hired to write the script, and the money came in handy when my son was born.
Sadly, the movie wasn't made, the book went out of print, and that was that.
Or was it?
I refused to believe it. I wrote a sequel set fifty years later, "Return To Shepherd Avenue." They liked it at Kensington Books - so now "Shepherd Avenue" is getting new life on April 4th, to be followed by "Return To Shepherd Avenue" in June.
As someone once said, it ain't over 'til it's over. Shepherd Avenue
Frank Sinatra As The Grandfather?
You always hope your book will make it to the silver screen, and in the case of "Shepherd Avenue" old Blue Eyes himself was in the running to play the Italian-American grandfather, Angie Ambrosio.
Oddly enough, it was a British film company that was willing to bankroll this Brooklyn-based movie if Frank Sinatra signed on for a cool million dollars.
Which might not sound like a lot of money these days, but this was quite a payday back in the late eighties.
Frank says "yes," and the cameras roll. Weeks went by, and all we could do was wait.
Would he do it? At that time Sinatra was still giving concerts, though he was far from young. He reportedly needed a Teleprompter to help him with the lyrics.
At last, word came from one of Sinatra's representatives: an extremely gracious "No." The rep went on to say that though Mr. Sinatra liked the story and was a big baseball fan, he was not considering film roles at this time.
Had he actually read "Shepherd Avenue?" I guess I'll never know. But he did know that baseball played a part in the story, so he must have read it! Hmm....
Well, it was a long shot. To this day I can't help wondering what a "Shepherd Avenue" film would have been like with Frank Sinatra in it. Guess we would have had to throw in a few songs.
Meanwhile, I can think of a few more Italian-American actors who've aged beautifully enough to fill Angie Ambrosio's shoes.
Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino...could I have a word with you?
Oddly enough, it was a British film company that was willing to bankroll this Brooklyn-based movie if Frank Sinatra signed on for a cool million dollars.
Which might not sound like a lot of money these days, but this was quite a payday back in the late eighties.
Frank says "yes," and the cameras roll. Weeks went by, and all we could do was wait.
Would he do it? At that time Sinatra was still giving concerts, though he was far from young. He reportedly needed a Teleprompter to help him with the lyrics.
At last, word came from one of Sinatra's representatives: an extremely gracious "No." The rep went on to say that though Mr. Sinatra liked the story and was a big baseball fan, he was not considering film roles at this time.
Had he actually read "Shepherd Avenue?" I guess I'll never know. But he did know that baseball played a part in the story, so he must have read it! Hmm....
Well, it was a long shot. To this day I can't help wondering what a "Shepherd Avenue" film would have been like with Frank Sinatra in it. Guess we would have had to throw in a few songs.
Meanwhile, I can think of a few more Italian-American actors who've aged beautifully enough to fill Angie Ambrosio's shoes.
Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino...could I have a word with you?
Dustin The Wind...Until Now!
One of the best things an author can have is a pushy mother who cannot be embarrassed.
When "Shepherd Avenue" was first published in 1986 my Irish-American mother happened to be checking it out in a midtown Manhattan bookstore when she spotted Dustin Hoffman browsing through the stacks.
She grabbed a copy of my book, marched straight to Hoffman, shoved it into his hands and said:
"Mr. Hoffman, this is my son's first novel, and I think it would make an excellent movie for you to star in."
The Oscar-winning actor had no response, save for a stunned expression.
Nothing came of it - Dustin the Wind, I like to say - but
the truth is, Hoffman was way too young to play the grandfather in "Shepherd Avenue" back then.
Now, he'd be just perfect. Hmmmm...
When "Shepherd Avenue" was first published in 1986 my Irish-American mother happened to be checking it out in a midtown Manhattan bookstore when she spotted Dustin Hoffman browsing through the stacks.
She grabbed a copy of my book, marched straight to Hoffman, shoved it into his hands and said:
"Mr. Hoffman, this is my son's first novel, and I think it would make an excellent movie for you to star in."
The Oscar-winning actor had no response, save for a stunned expression.
Nothing came of it - Dustin the Wind, I like to say - but
the truth is, Hoffman was way too young to play the grandfather in "Shepherd Avenue" back then.
Now, he'd be just perfect. Hmmmm...
