Feature: Don Winslow (“Savages”)
I don’t have the time to read as many novels as I’d like, but one I did get to last year on the strong recommendation of a friend was “Savages” by Don Winslow. It’s terrific. So I was interested to see this article yesterday in The PlayList [IndieWire] about Winslow and some of his movie projects.
First there is the aforementioned Savages, written by Winslow and Shane Salerno, directed by Oliver Stone, and with an excellent cast including Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Emile Hirsch, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Salma Hayek, and Benicio Del Toro. Here is a teaser trailer for the film:
The PlayList feature mentions a prequel to “Savages” called “The Kings of Cool,” another one of 16 books Winslow has written. Then there’s this:
His latest effort “Satori” may seem on the face it yet another thriller — the book jacket draws instant reference points to James Bond and Jason Bourne — but instead offers something very different from both those franchises. Lifting the protagonist from Trevanian’s novel “Shibumi,” the story follows Nicholai Hel, a martial arts expert and assassin raised in Japan who is also a master the ancient game of Go. When his master faces charges of war crimes, Nicholai kills him “as an act of devotion” but gets thrown in jail for murder. The CIA bails him out and teams him up with a beautiful French woman who trains him to assassinate the Russian commissioner to China. But when things go wrong, Nicholai is on the run through 1950s Vietnam hiding out from everybody ranging from worldwide intelligence agencies, the Corsican mob and a Vietnamese criminal syndicate.
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So given the thriller elements and rich subtext beneath, it’s no surprise Hollywood came calling. Last fall, it was announced that the project was snapped up as a vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio. And Winslow confirms that the project is still very much on the move. “It is Mr. DiCaprio’s film and I am thrilled about that. He is such a smart, versatile actor and he is the reason this all came together at Warner Brothers. His range is just enormous. From ‘Catch Me If You Can to ‘Gangs Of New York,’ from ‘Titanic’ to ‘Inception.’ When [screenwriter] Shane [Salerno] first suggested him for ‘Satori’ I said ‘We’ll never get him,’ and Shane said ‘let me see what I can do.’ Producers John Lesher and Jennifer Davisson Killoran helped make that happen and when I found out he said yes I was incredibly excited because he is Nicolai Hel,” Winslow enthused. “Shane and I are totally immersed in writing the script right now. It is a delicate balance. It is a heart pounding spy thriller with tremendous action and also a very sophisticated cold war love story.”
Leonardo DiCaprio on the run in 1950s Vietnam? I’m in!
Here is Winslow’s take on the craft of writing:
“Not to be preachy about it, but discipline is everything for a working writer, at least for this one. I can’t just wander around fields of flowers or sit brooding in coffee houses waiting for the muse to land on my shoulder and whisper in my ear. That would nice, but it ain’t gonna happen. I treat writing like a factory job — the whistle blows and I’m at work. This thing always comes down to someone sitting down with some kind of writing instrument and getting it done.”
“This thing always comes down to someone sitting down with some kind of writing instrument and getting it done.”
Think I just found next week’s On Writing post right there.
Savages premieres in the U.S. on July 6th.
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