Tuesday, August 9, 2011

It’s Hollywood, Jim, but not as we know it

 Comic Writer Takes on Hollywood!
It would appear that rumours of Alexander Nderitu’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Nearly two years after releasing his debut e-novel, 'When the Whirlwind Passes', the former movie reviewer is back with 'What’s Wrong With This Picture?', a comedic stage play about Hollywood.

The farce revolves around Jack Lloyd, a failed Alfred Hitchcock, whose attempts at producing a hit movie in California are frustrated at every turn. He is what Graham Greene might have called, ‘a burnt-out case’.

Although Nderitu admits that he was under the influence (of instant coffee) when he wrote this comedy, he believes that his unflattering portrait of the Hollywood film-making scene is more accurate than most people would like to admit.

‘People still have this fairy-tale image of Tinseltown,’ he says. ‘They think it’s a magical place paved with gold and populated with smooth young men and angelic little girls. Well, it’s not… Movie-making is an expensive, complicated and difficult affair. Don’t let the red-carpet glamour fool you.’ Nderitu echoes the sentiments of producer Michael Hauge who wrote, ‘The process of making a film involves so many people, so much money, so much talent, so many egos, so many physical obstacles and so may things that can go wrong that it is a near miracle every time a movie gets made, let alone is any good.’ ('Writing Screenplays That Sell', Elm Tree Books, pg.287-288).

‘What’s Wrong With This Picture?’ (or, more accurately, ‘How Alexander Nderitu Sees Hollywood’) is written in a style reminiscent of humourist S.J.Perelman ('Acres & Pains', 'Crazy Like A Fox') and dedicated to ‘the granddaddy of playwrights’, William Shakespeare. Most of the action takes place on a film set and features a large cast of well-portrayed characters.

(c) Alex N Nderitu http://www.alexandernderitu.com/

Buy Alexander Nderitu's prose and poetry books at: http://stores.lulu.com/NewShakespeare

1 comment:

  1. I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts and time into the stuff you post!

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