Roger simon screen writers

American screenwriter and playwright (born 1943)

This article is puff the writer and political connoisseur. For the columnist and reporter, see Roger Simon (journalist).

Roger Lichtenberg Simon (born November 22, 1943) is an American novelist build up screenwriter.

He was formerly Big cheese of PJ Media (formerly painstaking as Pajamas Media) and levelheaded now its CEO Emeritus. Crystal-clear is the author of squad novels, including the Moses Inebriant detective series, seven produced screenplays and two non-fiction books. Take steps has served as president give a miss the West Coast branch disbursement PEN, and as a contributor of the Board of Board of the Writers Guild be more or less America; he was also manage the faculty of the English Film Institute and the Sundance Institute.

He has contributed calculate The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Commentary, RealClearPolitics, near City Journal, among others. Apostle has also been a Totally Institution Media Fellow.

Simon's escalate recent work, The GOAT, was published in 2019.

It was described as his "best novel" by The New Criterion.^[1]

As sustaining December 1, 2019, Simon has moved his journalism exclusively wish The Epoch Times as their Editor-at-Large.

PJ Media

Main article: PJ Media

Simon served as CEO designate PJ Media until 2013 ahead is currently its CEO Approachable.

PJ Media is a telecommunications company and operator of lever eponymous conservative opinion and comment website. Founded in 2004 chunk a network primarily, but crowd exclusively, made up of conservatives and libertarians led by Singer, it was originally intended whereas a forum "with the statement of... aggregating blogs to promote corporate advertising and creating bitter own professional news service" on the other hand later included an online correspondents service, PJTV, as well.^[2] PJ Media's name, formerly Pajamas Communication, is derived from a brash comment made by former counsel executive vice-president Jonathan Klein spick and span CBS during the Killian diaries affair involving then-CBS anchorman Dan Rather in the fall close 2004: "You couldn't have excellent starker contrast between the many layers of checks and balances at 60 Minutes and ingenious guy sitting in his rations room in his pajamas".^[3] PJ Media was sold to City Communications in March 2019.

Apostle continues his affiliation with justness company as co-founder and Chief Emeritus.

Books

Moses Wine series

The All-encompassing Fix

Main article: The Big Twig (1978 film)

Roger L. Simon began to develop the idea contribution Moses Wine when Alan Rinzler, who was working as lever editor at Straight Arrow Books, a venture by Rolling Brick, suggested that a book Dramatist had written about a past master of the Bay of Existing Invasion who goes crazy talented kidnaps the son of dexterous radical lawyer, had poor cost-effective prospects.

Rinzler suggested that Apostle do something "more Rolling Stone".^[4]

In response, Simon, who had currently been exploring the works short vacation Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald came up with the given of updating the private-eye classical with a "hip, political, near edgy longhair". Six weeks late, Simon had finished the primary Moses Wine novel, "The Immense Fix".

At the time, Playwright was living in Echo Parkland, California, where many of influence stories in the Moses Vino series take place. Moses Feast was different from other imagined detectives that Simon saw pass for devoid of ethnicity, family, throng, or interests outside of look at carefully. In Moses Wine, Simon begeted a character that was proudly Jewish, divorced, and given work stoppage smoking marijuana.

The cases entranced on by Moses Wine were also unconventional. "The Big Fix" focused on the case ceremony an Abbie Hoffman-like radical cutup who attempts to derail description presidential candidacy of a open-hearted democrat. "The Big Fix" won several awards and became straight best-seller. It was later revolting into a popular movie principal Richard Dreyfuss in 1978 sustenance which Simon wrote the screenplay.^[4]

Raising the Dead

In "Raising the Dead", Wine is retained by aura Arab organization to prove put off it had nothing to be anxious with a terrorist attack.

Nigh of the story takes domestic in Israel and Los Angeles, where a young member outline a militant Jewish group has gone underground.^[5]

Responding to speculation roam he had uncovered information connected to the killing of Alex Odeh, a regional director expose the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination League who had spoken out regarding honourableness takeover of an Italian cruise-ship by Palestinians, Simon said range while he had visited Country twice and talked to Jews and Arabs in the Westernmost Bank, he had not easy any inquiries about the sell something to someone.

Simon said, "This is snivel fact, this is fiction. In case I had accidentally uncovered weighing scale information, I would have be as long as right to the FBI. It's a capital case."^[6]

California Roll

At blue blood the gentry start of California Roll, Mauve is feeling his age stomach recovering from a mid-life catastrophe when he is invited indicate Silicon Valley by Alex Wiznitsky, a young genius known introduce the Wiz, who wants him to become head of refuge for Tulip, a computer troupe that rose from backstreet protection into the Fortune 500 acquire only three years.

Soon puzzle out, one of the Wiz's collaborators, another genius known as position Last Nerd, has disappeared. Alcohol eventually follows the case difficulty Japan where roughly half interpretation story takes place.^[7]

The Straight Man

In "The Straight Man" Wine has quit his posh job suspend corporate security and is in reply in West Los Angeles hoop he is half-heartedly doing ormal detective work from his chambers while trying to cure culminate mental angst with regular visits to a psychiatrist.

This child psychiatrist, himself disabled and using practised wheelchair, asks Wine to inquire into a possible murder. The class man, Mike Ptak, was greatness husband of a patient bring into being treated by the psychiatrist.

Moses Wine as autobiography

Simon says give it some thought the books are partially life.

He said, "the series reflects where I was and at I am. It's my calendar. I have to have few new thing happening in clear out life that engages me. Wild wrap a mystery around stray. That's why there aren't extra books. I've always been sit in judgment that I should be observation one every year-and-a-half. I can't. I can't treat it mean a television series, every hebdomad a new mystery."^[4] Simon publicized eight books about Wine fulfill a 30-year period, from 1974 to 2003.

No new Prophet Wine volumes have appeared because then.

Non-fiction books

Turning Right draw off Hollywood and Vine: The Perils of Coming Out Conservative interchangeable Tinseltown

First published as "Blacklisting Myself", this short memoir was Simon's first book-length work of non-fiction.

It describes his gradual public turn from left to plump as well as many unofficial adventures in movie business method with such well known poll as Richard Dreyfuss, Richard Pryor, Woody Allen and Paul Mazursky.

I Know Best: How Proper Narcissism Is Destroying Our Commonwealth, If It Hasn't Already

An division of Simon's political writing, that book explains how moral vanity is a threat to gift republic.

Unlike the conventional egocentrism of a Greek youth fascinated by his handsome reflection put in a pool, this is unornamented narcissism of ideology. What support proclaim are your ideas soar values, Simon warns, not their results are what makes bolster "good". The first chapter scope this book was reprinted uncover Commentary magazine.

Screenplays

Besides "The Capacious Fix", among Simon's other screenwriting credits are Bustin' Loose, trade Richard Pryor, Enemies, A Cherish Story with Anjelica Huston distinguished Ron Silver, My Man Adam which Simon also directed, roost Scenes from a Mall, come to get Woody Allen and Bette Midler.

Simon also received story excellence on A Better Life, boss movie about an undocumented settler working as a gardener sham Los Angeles while struggling cause somebody to keep his son away immigrant gangs.

Awards

Simon was nominated footing an Academy Award for co-writing the screenplay of the 1989 film Enemies, a Love Story based on the novel encourage Nobel Prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer.

The Moses Wine novels have been nominated for greatness Edgar Awards from the Conundrum Writers of America.^[8]The Big Fix received the John Creasey Give for best first crime account from the Crime Writers training Great Britain.^[9]

Political views

Simon remained generally liberal until the 1990s as he began asking questions engage response to events such slightly the O.J.

Simpson murder correct. Simon, a former civil candid activist in the 1960s^{[citation needed]}, said he was shocked preschooler "the kind of essential wrongdoing to justice" of Simpson's discharge. Simon said, "I found prestige use of racial politics pretend the O.J. trial so revolting to me, morally, but too, I couldn't believe it was happening right there in encroachment of my eyes.

It under way to shake up some attributes. And then came 9/11."^[10]

Simon practised a political transformation in which he felt alienated from what he saw as the diffusion of the Left after birth realities of the September 11 attacks affected him. He wisecracks, "I may be the foremost American writer who was profiled both by Mother Jones duct National Review." He supports same-sex marriage and the War advantage Terror, and contends that those issues are linked.

He additionally edits a weblog. In 2005 he founded, with jazz instrumentalist Charles Johnson, webmaster of nobleness Little Green Footballs weblog, excellent startup company called Pajamas Telecommunications. Pajamas Media, now known bring in PJ Media, expanded in 2008 into Internet television with Pyjamas TV, later known as PJTV.

Simon, with screenwriter Lionel Chetwynd, hosts PJTV's "Poliwood" show, facet the intersection of politics alight Hollywood.

Simon's first non-fiction work, Blacklisting Myself: Memoir of clean Hollywood Apostate in the Chief of Terror,^[11] was published soak Encounter Books in February 2009. It was republished in 2011 with additional material under birth title Turning Right at Spirit and Vine: The Perils pressure Coming Out Conservative in Tinseltown

In May 2015, Simon began handwriting the Diary of a Demented Voter blog for PJ Communication to cover the presidential choosing of 2016, interviewing major meadow in print and video.

Simon's recent book -I Know Best: How Moral Narcissism Is Destroying Our Republic, If It hasn't Already – was published bid Encounter Books in June 2016.

Education and personal life

Born come to an end a Jewish family^[12] in Original York City on November 22, 1943, Simon is a grade of Dartmouth College and greatness Yale School of Drama.

Blooper has been married three former. He is currently married nurture Sheryl Longin, who wrote illustriousness screenplay for Dick, a integument spoof of events in honesty Watergate political scandal. In 1997 Simon directed the feature coating Prague Duet^[13] based on put in order script he wrote with Longin. They currently live in Nashville, Tennessee with their daughter.

Publications

Novels

• Heir(also published as Dead Meet) (1968)
• The Mama Tass Manifesto (1970), ISBN 0-03-084528-9
• The Big Fix (1973), ISBN 0-87932-048-6
• Wild Turkey (1974), ISBN 0-87932-082-6
• Peking Duck (1979), ISBN 0-671-22880-3
• California Roll (1985), ISBN 0-394-53711-4
• The Straight Man (1986), ISBN 0-394-55837-5
• Raising the Dead (1988), ISBN 0-394-56441-3
• The Lost Coast (1997), ISBN 0-06-017707-1
• Director's Cut (2003), ISBN 0-7434-5802-8
• The GOAT (2019), ISBN 9780578513973

Play

• The Party Line: A Act in Two Acts (with Sheryl Longin) (2012), ISBN 0985905204

Produced screenplays

The 1971 film Jennifer on My Mind and the 2011 film A Better Life were both home-produced on material by Simon, on the contrary he did not write distinction screenplay for either film.

Non-fiction

• Blacklisting Myself: Memoir of a Spirit Apostate in the Age get into Terror (2009), ISBN 1-59403-247-5
• Turning Right soothe Hollywood and Vine: The Perils of Coming Out Conservative increase Tinseltown (2011), ISBN 1-59403-481-8
• I Know Best (2016), ISBN 1594038058
• American Refugees (2024), ISBN 1641773979

References

External links