TELEPHONE INTERVIEW / INTERVIEW — TAPE #19, SIDE #1
Q: Mark Russell Bell
P: Paul Russell (my father in California)
I: Marie Todd (friend)
H: Obadiah Harris, Ph.D. (Philosophical Research Society President)
O: Carol Herzog (acquaintance at the PRS)
P: Mark? Oh, hi. I’m sorry. I had started the letter before you called last month and I tried to rewrite it.
Q: What are you going to tell me in it?
P: It just says a few things about what came up.
Q: I thought it would be nice for me to call you because it’s going to be Thanksgiving time again.
P: That’s a problem. We don’t do too much around here.
Q: You’re not that far away from me — you’re in the (310) area code. You know, Michael is senior vice president of entertainment at Rogers & Cowan Public Relations. That’s (310) too.
P: Is that advertising?
Q: No. Public relations.
P: Public relations.
Q: Aren’t you proud of him?
P: I think he did say PR. I had written that on the page in the back of one of the letters and I said something about —
Q: So he turned out alright.
P: — he should have gone back to Burbank because that’s a real good plateau position —
Q: He’s in a good position.
P: — that he luckily got. And then the strike came along.
Q: Right. Well, he’s happy now.
P: And if he was the lead man or management they probably wouldn’t do it.
Q: Would you like me to have him call you some time?
P: No. No. No. No, I’ll just talk to you and I’ll send you a letter. He could have stayed during the strike.
Q: Can I tell you a little bit about my day because I don’t want to talk about Michael all the time.
P: Yeah, okay.
Q: Just to give an idea of what my life is like. Today I went to Rockaway Records and bought the new Joan Osborne album. It really freaked me out.
P: I told you to stay out of Hollywood.
Q: No, that’s here in Echo Park.
P: Echo Park.
Q: On the song “One Of Us” she says “yeah” as much as Michael does and when I heard the back-up vocalist near the end at first I thought it was Michael suddenly joining in. I guess the Beatles like to say “yeah” a lot too.
P: When did you go back over to Melrose?
Q: Paramount?
P: To the story department?
Q: You mean when I was working in publicity?
P: No, you’re on a sabbatical from Paramount. That’s on Melrose?
Q: I also went to Trader Joe’s on Hyperion.
P: When are you going back there?
Q: I don’t know.
P: You don’t know yet?
Q: Well, I’m trying to finish my book.
P: You’re not on layoff?
Q: No. They called me. They wanted me to come back to work last week. But I want to finish my book first.
P: Did Ellen —
Q: Let me finish telling you about my day real quick.
P: — bring you back a load of money?
Q: What? She never gives me any money. I give her money. Anyway, real quick, let me just tell you about my day. Anyway, so I went to Trader Joe’s because Mike went away for the weekend and I had to feed his cat, Dickens. There was this poor homeless man in the parking lot who asked to clean my windshield and I told him it was already clean but I’d help him out anyway and give him $1 and the (800) number for Interfaith. God, I hope they know what they’re doing because I’ve referred a lot of people to them since becoming a born-again Christian.
P: Born-again, huh?
Q: Yeah.
P: Well, your twin aunts Esther and Dorothy are Christian Scientists and all of their children are and so forth.
Q: I’m a Christian Scientist, though, too.
P: Well, I don’t think if you called Esther or Dorothy — Dorothy’s up north —
(TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: THE UNATTRIBUTED VOICE HEARD ON THE TAPE HERE SAYING “SHIT!” IS DIFFERENT IN TONE FROM THE SPIRIT VOICES. THIS SOUNDS MORE LIKE SOME KIND OF A CROSSED LINE.)
P: — and I don’t think you’d be able to talk much with them about your book or being born again.
Q: Why not?
P: They helped take care of Mom ten years ago when she hurt her knee and then she died at ninety-six years old. She’s ten years older than P. R. senior in Winterhaven. And now I’ve rewritten a letter. If I don’t rewrite it again — and I’m having a minor treatment that was put off two or three months and it’s not going to be major.
Q: What is it for?
P: Well, they call it dermatitis. I call it dermongus.
Q: I think I inherited that from you.
P: I’ve had it on my feet from tennis. And I had it a long time. There’s nothing you can do with it because if you put anything strong on it, well then it cuts off the air and it gets infected.
Q: They say that people who are very, very psychic have bad skin. I’ve always had bad skin.
P: You have?
Q: Yeah. But it’s no big deal.
P: That’s from me.
Q: I just take long showers.
P: I’ve let myself go around here but — you can’t put much alcohol on it. You just bathe it every day or two and (“IT”) I’ve got witch hazel and alcohol —
Q: Witch?
P: — only because there’s nothing else you can do. The best thing is moisturelle, which is plain pure water. Moisturelle.
Q: Today, I found the Pasadena High School literary magazine Pandora’s Box that I contributed to during my senior year of high school. I had contributed two morality tales — one about a black dog and another one about a prostitute. There was also a short essay entitled “What’s in a Name?” and a poem about singing monkeys. There was also a two-page story I withheld my name from that received honorable mention in the national Scholastic Magazines writing awards program. Can I read it to you real quick?
P: No, Mark, because I can’t see when I’m thinking. My eyes are weak.
Q: I think you’ll find it interesting. It’s amazing because it came out of my subconscious mind.
P: I don’t follow you. I’m very good with words but my problem is my eyes are weak. I need a cornea transplant on the one. The other one’s weak too and I’m taking strong drops for the other eye. The last doctor didn’t tell me that I had glaucoma.
Q: Anyway, on Thursday —
P: I can’t follow all of this. You’re going too fast.
Q: Well, I’m in psychotherapy, luckily, so that’s helping me organize my thoughts.
P: What I started to say was I never read much. I squinted in tennis. And I never read much. And then I watch TV a little bit — not too much. I usually work nights and weekends. My eyes just got a little weak. Well, if I’d never written or read much I would be better off. My eyes wouldn’t be weak.
Q: Maybe you can make a contribution to my book.
P: What’s that?
Q: Oh, I don’t know.
P: You mean a short story?
Q: No, my book that I’m working on.
P: Is it short stories?
Q: No, it’s interview transcripts. It’s just interviews.
P: You’re going to interview me?
Q: Yeah.
P: Oh great.
Q: Okay.
P: Okay, well wait until you get my letter and —
Q: Well, no, not right now —
P: — I’m not going to rewrite it anyway.
Q: I’m so sneaky.
P: I can read it with my magnifying glass but —
Q: I hate myself sometimes.
P: — I only have time in the evenings. I sit down and I start to write and then I start to copy the —
Q: But sometimes you can be more honest —
P: — third paragraph then I get into something —
Q: — by being dishonest. If you know what I mean. [My meaning here was that I wasn't be entirely honest as I hadn't told Paul the current conversation was being tape recorded.]
P: — more. And then I get all fowled up by it. I’ll have to go ahead and send it like this. I think I’ll rewrite it once more tonight or tomorrow.
Q: Does it have anything in it about Uncle Bob?
P: No. But that’s going to be in it.
Q: Does it have anything about Thaddeus?
P: It says, “Curtail Orange County.”
Q: Thaddeus? Does it have anything —
P: Presearch. Well, I didn’t have to repeat that because you said you were doing that. I said, “Curtail Orange County —”
Q: Is this still my telephone call?
P: “— and New York.” But I didn’t do that until the second page on the back of the first page because I earned your respect first, see, by telling you that my condition is bad but not that bad. And what I’ve been doing in printing — I print — I’m trying to write but I haven’t written much in two to three years. I wrote one family letter last year and —
Q: Who was it to?
P: — I sent copies of it to my sisters and three friends.
Q: Did you send a copy to Grandpa?
P: No no no no — that’s right. I tried. I can’t go into it all but I have never written to him and he’s never written to me.
Q: Why not?
P: The only kids that ever did it were Esther and Dorothy because they’re Christian Scientists. They wrote him, “We forgive you, Dad. You’re a good man.”
Q: What were they forgiving him for?
P: Running away from home (“RIGHT”) when I’m seven and they’re six and five and four and three and two.
Q: I forgive you two.
P: No. They forgive him.
Q: I know. (“PAPA”)
P: Not me.
Q: No, I said I forgive you as well.
P: Oh. Oh okay.
Q: For you know.
P: (getting ready to hang up) Listen. I’m glad you called.
Q: Wait — let me real quick —
P: I was very grateful —
Q: — let me tell you —
P: — and amazed —
Q: — what happened after psychotherapy. Something interesting happened.
P: But you’re getting underpaid for all of this and —
Q: Listen. You’ll enjoy this. Listen listen listen.
P: And — (small laugh)
Q: Listen. Please. I’m listening to you. Just listen for a moment. Thursday night after psychotherapy I noticed my daily horoscope said I would find something I had misplaced. And so I thought maybe I would find this tape that I had been looking for — I had this psychic reading recorded in January, 1991 that the psychic made for me.
P: 1991.
Q: I said, “Well, I’m going to find the cassette tape because it says in the stars that I’ll find this today.” So I reached my hand into the closet between my kitchen and living room and I just pulled it out. It was major phenomena. I mean I know life is but a dream and everything; and God wants us to surrender our life and will to Him but what does that mean, anyway? I’ve done that and I can assure you there’s still plenty of me left. I’m not some mindless ant and I’m happier than I’ve ever been except —
P: Mark, you’re real good at a cocktail party.
Q: — except my sex life isn’t so hot.
P: But you are going too far and you’re not going to get paid very well for it. The agents are going —
Q: Let me finish.
P: — to make more money than you.
Q: Oh, I don’t care.
P: The proofreader will send it back to you and tell you to rewrite half of it.
Q: I’m just having so much fun.
P: I know you are. That’s it. I had a lot of fun too. I remember when you decided to quit playing tennis.
Q: You’ll enjoy this. Listen to this. Except it doesn’t seem likely I’ll get laid in the near future even though we take baths together.
P: Who?
Q: Michael and me — not Mike —
P: Oh God.
Q: The Entity. But it isn’t like that bathroom scene between Thing and Uncle Fester that was edited out of “Addams Family Values.”
P: How far away is Ellen?
Q: She’s over in Arcadia.
P: What’s it near?
Q: Echo Park?
P: Near Hollywood?
Q: It’s right near Dodger Stadium where I saw a UFO recently.
P: Yeah, I don’t like that area. That’s where I thought it was.
Q: What’s wrong with the area?
P: So I would move and when you move unlist your phone number.
Q: It’s already unlisted.
P: You unlisted it? Well, it’s too late. It’s already in the books. The operator will not give it out.
Q: No, it’s not in the book.
P: It was in the book. You told me it was.
Q: No, I didn’t. It’s not in the book.
P: Okay.
Q: Anyway, come to think of it. I bet that producer of “The Addams Family” television series really feels he got screwed over by someone but not Paramount because the studio bought the film from Orion in turnaround.
P: Who?
Q: I thought I would make that clear just in case Simon & Schuster may want to publish my book. Scott Rudin, I guess.
P: Go a little slower. Who — Paramount is — I don’t — I didn’t get that.
Q: It’s not that important. But my personal trainer at the gym was fired on suspicion of sexual abuse. Isn’t that ironic?
P: At Paramount?
Q: No, at the gym. My personal trainer.
P: Oh, MGM, yeah.
Q: Can you believe it? He was fired on suspicion of sexual abuse.
P: You shouldn’t have to go to gyms.
Q: Talk about karma.
P: I can tell you it’s not any good to take up tennis because you have to wait too long for the courts. The thing to do is to take up golf. But you’re too active and too hyper —
Q: Did you know —
P: — to want to play golf and it’s going to take you two or three times to even want to finish nine holes.
Q: Did you know that my brother, Mike, is gay?
P: How do you know?
Q: Oh, he’s open about it.
P: Well, he better not be.
Q: Why?
P: Because I’m narrow-minded. That’s why.
Q: Hmm.
P: Now. Okay listen.
Q: Yeah.
P: Thanks for calling and I’m very amazed that you’re doing so many things but don’t specialize in any of them. (small laugh) And you’ll have to settle down.
Q: Are you sure you don’t me to read “Picture Puzzle of a Mind Without a Window”? It’s just two pages long.
P: Oh no no no.
Q: I did it in high school.
P: No. Send me a copy. I just got the idea last night.
Q: You know what I think I’ll do?
P: I’m going to address this letter.
Q: I think I’ll go ahead and include it in my book.
P: I’m going to address this letter to Russell, Smith (“OKAY”) and Blarney. Russell, Smith and Blarney Company.
Q: Are you proud that I’m writing the new Testament for mankind?
P: That’s good. That’s alright. But you see you got to do some research first.
Q: By the way, Paul, write this on your calendar.
P: I do presearch because then I don’t have to write anything down.
Q: November 30th is when a TV show will be on that you will not want to miss.
P: And also I got a suggestion — what’s that?
Q: It’s called “Put It To The Test.” It’s on at eight o’clock on ABC on November 30th. It’s about a family living in Oklahoma and I have the film and book rights. It’s about the archangel Michael.
P: What do you mean rights?
Q: The book and movie rights to their life story.
P: You have?
Q: I have.
P: Have they made it yet?
Q: No, I’m still working on the book.
P: And what kind of people are they?
Q: They’re lovely, nice people.
P: A family? There are millions and millions of them.
Q: Yeah, but their last name is Bell.
P: Oh, that’s it. Oh, I see. B – E – L – L – E.
Q: There’s no E in the name.
P: B – E – L – L.
Q: Yeah.
P: Pacific —
Q: Right. As in Pacific Bell.
P: Okay, Russell, Smith and Blarney. I’m going to send you the letter. It also says, “When you’re through with T. D. and New York City —”
Q: I still want to visit you.
P: ” — you start on Gangie Boyer.” (French pronunciation) Boyer. Kansas City, Missouri.
Q: What was the first word you said.
P: You know what a gang is?
Q: Oh, I get it.
P: I – E.
Q: Well, for transcribing it helps to have the spelling, you know?
P: That’s what we called her when she chased us around the table trying to beat us up when we were three and four years old. She got hit by a car when she was angry walking home. She was about eighty-five. She had a boarding house in Kansas City. And Anna Mary, my mom, died at ninety-six.
Q: Now I remember why I called you in the first place. What was your mother’s maiden name?
P: Anna and Marguerite and Albert and William were their two girls and two boys.
Q: What was your mother’s maiden name?
P: Boyer!
Q: Your mother’s maiden name?
P: Yeah. That’s the maternal family tree that you’re going to start researching.
Q: Oh, okay.
P: And Anna was supervisor of Western Union in Kansas City. That’s why he married her because she put him through college. And he worked for Western Union in DC — worked civil service at night and he went to college — I’ll see you later. I got that already in the letter. Okay, bye.
Q: Okay. Thank-you. Bye.
(TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: THE NEXT RECORDED CONVERSATION IS WITH MY FRIEND MARIE. “HOTEL CALIFORNIA” ON THE EAGLES GREATEST HITS VOLUME II CD CAN BE HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND AND IS SOON FOLLOWED BY “HEARTACHE TONIGHT.”)
Q: Marie is here. It’s Sunday and we’re going over to whatever it’s called.
I: (laughs)
Q: I don’t remember what it’s called even. Oh well.
I: Some —
Q: Anyway. We’re going to hear their lecture, workshop or whatever. And Marie —
I: Yes.
Q: What did you say happened? You don’t want to talk about that Jim Morrison thing because that’s too hard to explain?
I: We were talking about music and CDS — those two CDS I gave you as presents over the years that I never really gave much thought to.
Q: Um-huh.
I: The Cowboy Junkies’ The Trinity Session — and there’s a great rendition on there of “Sweet Jane,” that Lou Reed gave and all of that. And, anyway, Lou Reed also did “White Light, White Heat” and all that other good stuff. Anyway, the other CD I once gave you was the Jesus Jones CD Doubt with the song “Right Here, Right Now” and I like that song. And Van Halen also has “Right Now.” “Right Now” is where it’s at.
(TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: THE NEXT RECORDED CONVERSATION IS WITH OBADIAH HARRIS, PH.D., OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY FOLLOWING HIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH LECTURE. I HAVE BEEN A PRS CHURCHGOER EVER SINCE. [THROUGH LATE 1998] THIS FIRST TIME THAT I SPOKE TO HIM WAS ON MY WAY OUT OF THE AUDITORIUM.)
Q: Hi, Obadiah.
H: Hi.
Q: As you can see, I took copious notes during your lecture.
H: My goodness, you did.
Q: I’m writing a book that encompasses all forms of New Age thought so I thought what I would do is recommend your lecture in my book so people can call the PRS and buy a copy of it for themselves.
H: How nice of you to do that.
Q: Will you include that story about the rainbow? Was that recorded too?
H: That was tape-recorded too.
O: That was wonderful.
I: That was wonderful.
H: Well, I just couldn’t hold it any longer because I was so (“YEAH”) moved. I got so moved on the mountain with White Bear that I was a little bit emotional. I was trying to contain it but I found I had the same feelings again that I had there. It was so powerful when it happened and —
I: Totally.
H: — I wondered if it could be shared. (“IT WAS”)
I: Oh, it needed to be. Plus there’s nothing else in those areas so it had to be really —
O: Oh sure.
Q: Do you feel that was a sign from God?
H: I did. (“UM-HUH”) I felt like here was this man of God whose father was the Chief and his father’s father was the Chief — I mean I honored that. And you have to honor that. And then he would ask me the question — here on this broad space of desert jumps out the biggest, brightest most intense double rainbow I’ve ever seen in my life.
I: And you can tell — it photographed so beautifully.
H: Well, do you know at this sole moment I had this little camera so I took one at the side — but we got it all.
O: You did.
H: And I was wondering if we did. And I was so pleased that it came out. We just pasted it together and all.
Q: In your research, did you learn anything about Marduk or the god Ra —
H: Um-huh.
Q: — or Bel-Marduk?
H: Um-huh.
(TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: I HAVE CORRECTED MOST OF THESE REFERENCES ON THE TRANSCRIPT BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL MANY MONTHS LATER THAT I REALIZED AMUN-RA AND NOT RA WAS THE APPROPRIATE PARALLEL NAME FOR BEL-MARDUK.)
Q: Have you ever read that mysterium —
H: Um-huh.
Q: — about Bel-Marduk?
H: Um-huh. We have a book here in the library about that I believe too. (“BECAUSE OF IT’S”)
Q: Because —
H: You ought to take a look at that.
Q: — I’m very close to his energy source, apparently. I don’t know if I’m channeling him or what is going on but I’m trying to figure it out.
H: Well, you know, it’s a wonderful thing to do. You should look into it.
Q: Yeah. Okay, I’ll look.
O: When do you think that White Bear will come? Because I really don’t want to miss that.
H: I know it. Well, (“PRAYER”) he’s in meditation and prayer. He wants to be shown even more what we can do to prevent destruction. And isn’t that important? My God.
O: Yeah, but see I have to come so far. Three hundred and twenty miles.
H: Where do you live?
O: June Lake.
I: (gasps)
O: Do you know where Mammoth is?
I: That’s the High Sierras.
Q: What is your name?
O: Carol Herzog.
H: What we’ll do. It will be in here. It will be in the calendar.
O: Yeah, but I didn’t get this. If I had got this I could have come a couple weeks earlier.
H: I know it.
O: So what I’m going to do is fill out another one of these and maybe a little letter. And then we were calling —
H: I’ll have to —
O: — the wrong number.
H: Oh dear.
O: Give us the right number.
H: You see, I’ll have to go up and get him because I’ll have to bring him here by car.
O: (to Marie) He isn’t listening, is he?
H: But I’m going to do it.
I: That’s wonderful. What was it like with the energy — the lightning — when that happened?
H: I tell you. I thought I’d go out of my skin. But when that hit and I saw —
I: That crash?
H: — that knot tied on the top and tied tight. It went on down and hung down like a great rope —
I: It gives me chills. (“WAIT”)
H: And I knew what that knot meant. Because I read — and I put — and I said — but I wanted him to say it. I wanted to hear his words.
Q: But it’s also the rope with which mankind hangs himself.
H: Well, that’s true too. And that shows the freedom we have. Here is the unit of heaven on earth. We’re talking about destruction. And the question was to this great teacher. Are there some things we can do? Well, I want him — I won’t assume what his views are of what we can do as a race at this time.
O: I don’t want to miss that. (“YEAH”)
Q: It’s show love for our fellow man.
H: Right.
O: Is your presentation today going to be on tape?
H: It was taped.
O: Can we buy those tapes?
H: It may be available now. What time is it? In about ten minutes they’re ready.
Q: And the title of your lecture today was “The Egyptian Origins of Wisdom.”
H: Exactly. (“GREAT”)
Q: Thank you.
H: You bet.
I: Wonderful. Thanks. (small laugh)
O: Thank you.
( . . . )
Q: Marie and I are on our way to have lunch at Le Belle Epoque restaurant on Hillhurst and, of course, there’s another homeless person with a shopping cart so I took out my usual Interfaith number and $1 to give him. And Marie’s going to give him $1 too. I wish people would realize that God is in each one of us.
( . . . )
Q: Marie and I began talking about Paul Reubens. Of course, I did the press kit for “Big Top Pee-wee.” We think it’s just ridiculous that he lost his TV show for masturbating at a porno film theater when that’s what you’re supposed to do in those places. I mean he wasn’t even caught with a hooker like Hugh Grant was — and it didn’t hurt his career. Marie, what do you think about that?
I: Like who cares? It’s his private life. All the people that destroyed his career do the same damn things themselves probably.
Q: If not worse.
I: Yeah. Who cares? It’s his life. I think he’s very gifted and talented and made a lot of people very happy. And I miss “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”
Q: By the way, I have a script that would be really right for him. It just needs to be redone for the Pee-wee Herman character. It’s called “Whatever Became of Mickey MacDougall?” I originally did it as a vehicle for Mickey Rooney called “Sonny Skies” but we had creative differences. Roger Corman was even interested in it and Mickey later hired Richard Quine to rewrite it who ended up committing suicide. But, anyway, my script would be a fabulous vehicle for Paul.
( . . . )
Q: (speaking into tape recorder) Tonight my friend James invited me to go see the final episode of “Berlin Alexanderplatz” which I enjoyed very much. On the way home I saw a new Angelyne billboard. And I called my brother and told him about Boyer being our grandmother’s maiden name because I have an acquaintance named Vivian Boyer who is one of my brother’s best friends. She’s a publicist.
( . . . )
Q: I’m relating some of my journal entries and information and memories that may possibly be important to this case. The film publicity work/titles of Paramount movies I’ve worked on number over a hundred and include “1492: Conquest of Paradise,” the reissue of “1900,” “The Accused,” the “Addams Family” movies, “All I Want for Christmas,” “Almost An Angel,” “Andre,” “Another 48 HRS.,” “Back to the Beach,” “Bebe’s Kids,” “Beverly Hills Cop III,” “Big Top Pee-wee,” “Black Rain,” “Blue Chips,” “The Blue Iguana,” “Body Parts,” “Bopha!,” “Boomerang,” “The Brady Bunch Movie,” “Braveheart,” “The Browning Version,” “The Butcher’s Wife,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “Coming To America,” “Coneheads,” “Congo,” “Cousins,” “Crazy People,” “‘Crocodile’ Dundee II,” “Days of Thunder,” “Dead Again,” “Distant Thunder,” “Drop Zone,” “The Experts,” “Fat Man And Little Boy,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Fire in the Sky,” “The Firm,” “Flashback,” “Flesh and Bone,” “Flight of the Intruder,” “Forrest Gump,” “Frankie and Johnny,” a couple “Friday the 13th” films, “Funny About Love,” “Ghost,” “The Godfather, Part III,” “Graveyard Shift,” “Harlem Nights,” “He Said, She Said,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “The Indian in the Cupboard,” “Internal Affairs,” “Intersection,” “Jennifer Eight,” “Juice,” “Ladybugs,” “Lassie,” “Let It Ride,” “Leap of Faith,” “Losing Isaiah,” “Major League,” “Milk Money,” “Necessary Roughness,” “Pontiac Moon,” “The Naked Gun” films, “A New Life,” “Nick of Time,” “The Perfect Weapon,” “Permanent Record,” “Pet Sematary,” “Plain Clothes,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “The Presidio,” “Raw,” “School Ties,” “Scrooged,” “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” “Shirley Valentine,” “A Show of Force,” “Sliver,” “Soapdish,” several “Star Trek” films, “Stepping Out,” “Tales from the Darkside: The Movie,” the reissue of “The Ten Commandments,” “The Thing Called Love,” “True Colors,” “Tucker: The Man And His Dream,” “The Two Jakes,” “U2 Rattle and Hum,” “The Untouchables,” “Vampire in Brooklyn,” “Virtuosity,” the “Wayne’s World” films, “Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael,” “We’re No Angels,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Whispers in the Dark.” One of the last projects I worked on was the preliminary notes for “Primal Fear” and the night before I went to Oklahoma I did a news release about “Stephen King’s Thinner” and “Night Falls on Manhattan.” Over the years my unproduced screenplays include “Heartbeat City,” which was registered in 1978 and 1984 and 1986 under different titles; “Brides,” in 1978, ’83, ’91 and ’93. I do a lot of rewriting to get things right. Not that anyone cares. And one of my first screenplays was an adaptation of Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, which was a children’s book my teacher, Miss Hinkley, read to the class when I was in the fifth grade. I registered that script in 1978. I also adapted After Many A Summer Dies The Swan in 1979. That was the first of three Aldous Huxley projects that I did which never were made, of course. The second one was The Genius and the Goddess, an adaptation of the novel, and then an adaptation of the short story “Young Archimedes” by Aldous Huxley — which I called “The Prodigy.” I sent that all around town and it got a very good response. “Ruins,” which I registered in 1980 and a revised version in 1982, was based on a dream I had which is remarkable now in retrospect because one of the major characters is named Rachel and has a speech impediment. It was based on a dream and the story elements include strange experiments performed at a retreat in the woods. “Nostalgia for Demons” is another project I’ve worked on over many years. I think I copyrighted and registered an initial version in 1981. I also registered a revised draft in 1988 and I’m still working on both the novel version and the screenplay version. I wrote a screenplay dramatizing Judgement Day called “The Ultimate” in 1981. I did a project called “The Movie Lovers” about Hollywood before I really had worked in Hollywood or just was beginning to work in Hollywood—in 1982. “Horns” was about a teenager who tries to avoid eternity in limbo and that was registered in 1984. I have adapted To Live Again by Robert Silverberg. I registered various drafts of that in 1985, 1989 and 1994. I’ve done a few teleplays on spec for TV over the years such as an episode for “The Twilight Zone” called “Weird TV.” It was about an alien abduction. “Bob, Son of Battle” I registered in 1985 and 1988. “Sonny Skies” / “Whatever Became of Mickey MacDougall” I registered in 1986 and 1994. 1 wrote a screenplay entitled “Bigfoot Trackers” in 1986 and had submitted it to Jeffrey Katzenberg at Disney not long before that studio came out with a TV movie on the same subject. “Wild Woman” I registered in 1986, 1989, which I renewed in 1994, and 1991 and 1993. I registered my final draft, “Wonder of the World,” this May, 1995. “The Encroacher,” which was my screenplay about the Bell Witch case I registered in 1992. “Everything Is Going To Be Fine,” the story of ‘Chucky’ Mullins, I registered in 1992. I wrote a pilot for a series called “So Far Gone”—an episode entitled “Getting Going”—which I registered in January this year, 1995, and submitted to HBO.
( . . . )
Q: In A Dictionary of Symbols by J. E. Cirlot, I looked up ‘wild man’ and the definition says: “The image of the Wild Man or savage, covered only with a loin-cloth, or a garment of leaves or skins, is a common one in the folklore of almost every country. It is related to, but not identical with, such mythic beings —”
Q: What are you going to tell me in it?
P: It just says a few things about what came up.
Q: I thought it would be nice for me to call you because it’s going to be Thanksgiving time again.
P: That’s a problem. We don’t do too much around here.
Q: You’re not that far away from me — you’re in the (310) area code. You know, Michael is senior vice president of entertainment at Rogers & Cowan Public Relations. That’s (310) too.
P: Is that advertising?
Q: No. Public relations.
P: Public relations.
Q: Aren’t you proud of him?
P: I think he did say PR. I had written that on the page in the back of one of the letters and I said something about —
Q: So he turned out alright.
P: — he should have gone back to Burbank because that’s a real good plateau position —
Q: He’s in a good position.
P: — that he luckily got. And then the strike came along.
Q: Right. Well, he’s happy now.
P: And if he was the lead man or management they probably wouldn’t do it.
Q: Would you like me to have him call you some time?
P: No. No. No. No, I’ll just talk to you and I’ll send you a letter. He could have stayed during the strike.
Q: Can I tell you a little bit about my day because I don’t want to talk about Michael all the time.
P: Yeah, okay.
Q: Just to give an idea of what my life is like. Today I went to Rockaway Records and bought the new Joan Osborne album. It really freaked me out.
P: I told you to stay out of Hollywood.
Q: No, that’s here in Echo Park.
P: Echo Park.
Q: On the song “One Of Us” she says “yeah” as much as Michael does and when I heard the back-up vocalist near the end at first I thought it was Michael suddenly joining in. I guess the Beatles like to say “yeah” a lot too.
P: When did you go back over to Melrose?
Q: Paramount?
P: To the story department?
Q: You mean when I was working in publicity?
P: No, you’re on a sabbatical from Paramount. That’s on Melrose?
Q: I also went to Trader Joe’s on Hyperion.
P: When are you going back there?
Q: I don’t know.
P: You don’t know yet?
Q: Well, I’m trying to finish my book.
P: You’re not on layoff?
Q: No. They called me. They wanted me to come back to work last week. But I want to finish my book first.
P: Did Ellen —
Q: Let me finish telling you about my day real quick.
P: — bring you back a load of money?
Q: What? She never gives me any money. I give her money. Anyway, real quick, let me just tell you about my day. Anyway, so I went to Trader Joe’s because Mike went away for the weekend and I had to feed his cat, Dickens. There was this poor homeless man in the parking lot who asked to clean my windshield and I told him it was already clean but I’d help him out anyway and give him $1 and the (800) number for Interfaith. God, I hope they know what they’re doing because I’ve referred a lot of people to them since becoming a born-again Christian.
P: Born-again, huh?
Q: Yeah.
P: Well, your twin aunts Esther and Dorothy are Christian Scientists and all of their children are and so forth.
Q: I’m a Christian Scientist, though, too.
P: Well, I don’t think if you called Esther or Dorothy — Dorothy’s up north —
(TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: THE UNATTRIBUTED VOICE HEARD ON THE TAPE HERE SAYING “SHIT!” IS DIFFERENT IN TONE FROM THE SPIRIT VOICES. THIS SOUNDS MORE LIKE SOME KIND OF A CROSSED LINE.)
P: — and I don’t think you’d be able to talk much with them about your book or being born again.
Q: Why not?
P: They helped take care of Mom ten years ago when she hurt her knee and then she died at ninety-six years old. She’s ten years older than P. R. senior in Winterhaven. And now I’ve rewritten a letter. If I don’t rewrite it again — and I’m having a minor treatment that was put off two or three months and it’s not going to be major.
Q: What is it for?
P: Well, they call it dermatitis. I call it dermongus.
Q: I think I inherited that from you.
P: I’ve had it on my feet from tennis. And I had it a long time. There’s nothing you can do with it because if you put anything strong on it, well then it cuts off the air and it gets infected.
Q: They say that people who are very, very psychic have bad skin. I’ve always had bad skin.
P: You have?
Q: Yeah. But it’s no big deal.
P: That’s from me.
Q: I just take long showers.
P: I’ve let myself go around here but — you can’t put much alcohol on it. You just bathe it every day or two and (“IT”) I’ve got witch hazel and alcohol —
Q: Witch?
P: — only because there’s nothing else you can do. The best thing is moisturelle, which is plain pure water. Moisturelle.
Q: Today, I found the Pasadena High School literary magazine Pandora’s Box that I contributed to during my senior year of high school. I had contributed two morality tales — one about a black dog and another one about a prostitute. There was also a short essay entitled “What’s in a Name?” and a poem about singing monkeys. There was also a two-page story I withheld my name from that received honorable mention in the national Scholastic Magazines writing awards program. Can I read it to you real quick?
P: No, Mark, because I can’t see when I’m thinking. My eyes are weak.
Q: I think you’ll find it interesting. It’s amazing because it came out of my subconscious mind.
P: I don’t follow you. I’m very good with words but my problem is my eyes are weak. I need a cornea transplant on the one. The other one’s weak too and I’m taking strong drops for the other eye. The last doctor didn’t tell me that I had glaucoma.
Q: Anyway, on Thursday —
P: I can’t follow all of this. You’re going too fast.
Q: Well, I’m in psychotherapy, luckily, so that’s helping me organize my thoughts.
P: What I started to say was I never read much. I squinted in tennis. And I never read much. And then I watch TV a little bit — not too much. I usually work nights and weekends. My eyes just got a little weak. Well, if I’d never written or read much I would be better off. My eyes wouldn’t be weak.
Q: Maybe you can make a contribution to my book.
P: What’s that?
Q: Oh, I don’t know.
P: You mean a short story?
Q: No, my book that I’m working on.
P: Is it short stories?
Q: No, it’s interview transcripts. It’s just interviews.
P: You’re going to interview me?
Q: Yeah.
P: Oh great.
Q: Okay.
P: Okay, well wait until you get my letter and —
Q: Well, no, not right now —
P: — I’m not going to rewrite it anyway.
Q: I’m so sneaky.
P: I can read it with my magnifying glass but —
Q: I hate myself sometimes.
P: — I only have time in the evenings. I sit down and I start to write and then I start to copy the —
Q: But sometimes you can be more honest —
P: — third paragraph then I get into something —
Q: — by being dishonest. If you know what I mean. [My meaning here was that I wasn't be entirely honest as I hadn't told Paul the current conversation was being tape recorded.]
P: — more. And then I get all fowled up by it. I’ll have to go ahead and send it like this. I think I’ll rewrite it once more tonight or tomorrow.
Q: Does it have anything in it about Uncle Bob?
P: No. But that’s going to be in it.
Q: Does it have anything about Thaddeus?
P: It says, “Curtail Orange County.”
Q: Thaddeus? Does it have anything —
P: Presearch. Well, I didn’t have to repeat that because you said you were doing that. I said, “Curtail Orange County —”
Q: Is this still my telephone call?
P: “— and New York.” But I didn’t do that until the second page on the back of the first page because I earned your respect first, see, by telling you that my condition is bad but not that bad. And what I’ve been doing in printing — I print — I’m trying to write but I haven’t written much in two to three years. I wrote one family letter last year and —
Q: Who was it to?
P: — I sent copies of it to my sisters and three friends.
Q: Did you send a copy to Grandpa?
P: No no no no — that’s right. I tried. I can’t go into it all but I have never written to him and he’s never written to me.
Q: Why not?
P: The only kids that ever did it were Esther and Dorothy because they’re Christian Scientists. They wrote him, “We forgive you, Dad. You’re a good man.”
Q: What were they forgiving him for?
P: Running away from home (“RIGHT”) when I’m seven and they’re six and five and four and three and two.
Q: I forgive you two.
P: No. They forgive him.
Q: I know. (“PAPA”)
P: Not me.
Q: No, I said I forgive you as well.
P: Oh. Oh okay.
Q: For you know.
P: (getting ready to hang up) Listen. I’m glad you called.
Q: Wait — let me real quick —
P: I was very grateful —
Q: — let me tell you —
P: — and amazed —
Q: — what happened after psychotherapy. Something interesting happened.
P: But you’re getting underpaid for all of this and —
Q: Listen. You’ll enjoy this. Listen listen listen.
P: And — (small laugh)
Q: Listen. Please. I’m listening to you. Just listen for a moment. Thursday night after psychotherapy I noticed my daily horoscope said I would find something I had misplaced. And so I thought maybe I would find this tape that I had been looking for — I had this psychic reading recorded in January, 1991 that the psychic made for me.
P: 1991.
Q: I said, “Well, I’m going to find the cassette tape because it says in the stars that I’ll find this today.” So I reached my hand into the closet between my kitchen and living room and I just pulled it out. It was major phenomena. I mean I know life is but a dream and everything; and God wants us to surrender our life and will to Him but what does that mean, anyway? I’ve done that and I can assure you there’s still plenty of me left. I’m not some mindless ant and I’m happier than I’ve ever been except —
P: Mark, you’re real good at a cocktail party.
Q: — except my sex life isn’t so hot.
P: But you are going too far and you’re not going to get paid very well for it. The agents are going —
Q: Let me finish.
P: — to make more money than you.
Q: Oh, I don’t care.
P: The proofreader will send it back to you and tell you to rewrite half of it.
Q: I’m just having so much fun.
P: I know you are. That’s it. I had a lot of fun too. I remember when you decided to quit playing tennis.
Q: You’ll enjoy this. Listen to this. Except it doesn’t seem likely I’ll get laid in the near future even though we take baths together.
P: Who?
Q: Michael and me — not Mike —
P: Oh God.
Q: The Entity. But it isn’t like that bathroom scene between Thing and Uncle Fester that was edited out of “Addams Family Values.”
P: How far away is Ellen?
Q: She’s over in Arcadia.
P: What’s it near?
Q: Echo Park?
P: Near Hollywood?
Q: It’s right near Dodger Stadium where I saw a UFO recently.
P: Yeah, I don’t like that area. That’s where I thought it was.
Q: What’s wrong with the area?
P: So I would move and when you move unlist your phone number.
Q: It’s already unlisted.
P: You unlisted it? Well, it’s too late. It’s already in the books. The operator will not give it out.
Q: No, it’s not in the book.
P: It was in the book. You told me it was.
Q: No, I didn’t. It’s not in the book.
P: Okay.
Q: Anyway, come to think of it. I bet that producer of “The Addams Family” television series really feels he got screwed over by someone but not Paramount because the studio bought the film from Orion in turnaround.
P: Who?
Q: I thought I would make that clear just in case Simon & Schuster may want to publish my book. Scott Rudin, I guess.
P: Go a little slower. Who — Paramount is — I don’t — I didn’t get that.
Q: It’s not that important. But my personal trainer at the gym was fired on suspicion of sexual abuse. Isn’t that ironic?
P: At Paramount?
Q: No, at the gym. My personal trainer.
P: Oh, MGM, yeah.
Q: Can you believe it? He was fired on suspicion of sexual abuse.
P: You shouldn’t have to go to gyms.
Q: Talk about karma.
P: I can tell you it’s not any good to take up tennis because you have to wait too long for the courts. The thing to do is to take up golf. But you’re too active and too hyper —
Q: Did you know —
P: — to want to play golf and it’s going to take you two or three times to even want to finish nine holes.
Q: Did you know that my brother, Mike, is gay?
P: How do you know?
Q: Oh, he’s open about it.
P: Well, he better not be.
Q: Why?
P: Because I’m narrow-minded. That’s why.
Q: Hmm.
P: Now. Okay listen.
Q: Yeah.
P: Thanks for calling and I’m very amazed that you’re doing so many things but don’t specialize in any of them. (small laugh) And you’ll have to settle down.
Q: Are you sure you don’t me to read “Picture Puzzle of a Mind Without a Window”? It’s just two pages long.
P: Oh no no no.
Q: I did it in high school.
P: No. Send me a copy. I just got the idea last night.
Q: You know what I think I’ll do?
P: I’m going to address this letter.
Q: I think I’ll go ahead and include it in my book.
P: I’m going to address this letter to Russell, Smith (“OKAY”) and Blarney. Russell, Smith and Blarney Company.
Q: Are you proud that I’m writing the new Testament for mankind?
P: That’s good. That’s alright. But you see you got to do some research first.
Q: By the way, Paul, write this on your calendar.
P: I do presearch because then I don’t have to write anything down.
Q: November 30th is when a TV show will be on that you will not want to miss.
P: And also I got a suggestion — what’s that?
Q: It’s called “Put It To The Test.” It’s on at eight o’clock on ABC on November 30th. It’s about a family living in Oklahoma and I have the film and book rights. It’s about the archangel Michael.
P: What do you mean rights?
Q: The book and movie rights to their life story.
P: You have?
Q: I have.
P: Have they made it yet?
Q: No, I’m still working on the book.
P: And what kind of people are they?
Q: They’re lovely, nice people.
P: A family? There are millions and millions of them.
Q: Yeah, but their last name is Bell.
P: Oh, that’s it. Oh, I see. B – E – L – L – E.
Q: There’s no E in the name.
P: B – E – L – L.
Q: Yeah.
P: Pacific —
Q: Right. As in Pacific Bell.
P: Okay, Russell, Smith and Blarney. I’m going to send you the letter. It also says, “When you’re through with T. D. and New York City —”
Q: I still want to visit you.
P: ” — you start on Gangie Boyer.” (French pronunciation) Boyer. Kansas City, Missouri.
Q: What was the first word you said.
P: You know what a gang is?
Q: Oh, I get it.
P: I – E.
Q: Well, for transcribing it helps to have the spelling, you know?
P: That’s what we called her when she chased us around the table trying to beat us up when we were three and four years old. She got hit by a car when she was angry walking home. She was about eighty-five. She had a boarding house in Kansas City. And Anna Mary, my mom, died at ninety-six.
Q: Now I remember why I called you in the first place. What was your mother’s maiden name?
P: Anna and Marguerite and Albert and William were their two girls and two boys.
Q: What was your mother’s maiden name?
P: Boyer!
Q: Your mother’s maiden name?
P: Yeah. That’s the maternal family tree that you’re going to start researching.
Q: Oh, okay.
P: And Anna was supervisor of Western Union in Kansas City. That’s why he married her because she put him through college. And he worked for Western Union in DC — worked civil service at night and he went to college — I’ll see you later. I got that already in the letter. Okay, bye.
Q: Okay. Thank-you. Bye.
(TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: THE NEXT RECORDED CONVERSATION IS WITH MY FRIEND MARIE. “HOTEL CALIFORNIA” ON THE EAGLES GREATEST HITS VOLUME II CD CAN BE HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND AND IS SOON FOLLOWED BY “HEARTACHE TONIGHT.”)
Q: Marie is here. It’s Sunday and we’re going over to whatever it’s called.
I: (laughs)
Q: I don’t remember what it’s called even. Oh well.
I: Some —
Q: Anyway. We’re going to hear their lecture, workshop or whatever. And Marie —
I: Yes.
Q: What did you say happened? You don’t want to talk about that Jim Morrison thing because that’s too hard to explain?
I: We were talking about music and CDS — those two CDS I gave you as presents over the years that I never really gave much thought to.
Q: Um-huh.
I: The Cowboy Junkies’ The Trinity Session — and there’s a great rendition on there of “Sweet Jane,” that Lou Reed gave and all of that. And, anyway, Lou Reed also did “White Light, White Heat” and all that other good stuff. Anyway, the other CD I once gave you was the Jesus Jones CD Doubt with the song “Right Here, Right Now” and I like that song. And Van Halen also has “Right Now.” “Right Now” is where it’s at.
(TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: THE NEXT RECORDED CONVERSATION IS WITH OBADIAH HARRIS, PH.D., OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY FOLLOWING HIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH LECTURE. I HAVE BEEN A PRS CHURCHGOER EVER SINCE. [THROUGH LATE 1998] THIS FIRST TIME THAT I SPOKE TO HIM WAS ON MY WAY OUT OF THE AUDITORIUM.)
Q: Hi, Obadiah.
H: Hi.
Q: As you can see, I took copious notes during your lecture.
H: My goodness, you did.
Q: I’m writing a book that encompasses all forms of New Age thought so I thought what I would do is recommend your lecture in my book so people can call the PRS and buy a copy of it for themselves.
H: How nice of you to do that.
Q: Will you include that story about the rainbow? Was that recorded too?
H: That was tape-recorded too.
O: That was wonderful.
I: That was wonderful.
H: Well, I just couldn’t hold it any longer because I was so (“YEAH”) moved. I got so moved on the mountain with White Bear that I was a little bit emotional. I was trying to contain it but I found I had the same feelings again that I had there. It was so powerful when it happened and —
I: Totally.
H: — I wondered if it could be shared. (“IT WAS”)
I: Oh, it needed to be. Plus there’s nothing else in those areas so it had to be really —
O: Oh sure.
Q: Do you feel that was a sign from God?
H: I did. (“UM-HUH”) I felt like here was this man of God whose father was the Chief and his father’s father was the Chief — I mean I honored that. And you have to honor that. And then he would ask me the question — here on this broad space of desert jumps out the biggest, brightest most intense double rainbow I’ve ever seen in my life.
I: And you can tell — it photographed so beautifully.
H: Well, do you know at this sole moment I had this little camera so I took one at the side — but we got it all.
O: You did.
H: And I was wondering if we did. And I was so pleased that it came out. We just pasted it together and all.
Q: In your research, did you learn anything about Marduk or the god Ra —
H: Um-huh.
Q: — or Bel-Marduk?
H: Um-huh.
(TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: I HAVE CORRECTED MOST OF THESE REFERENCES ON THE TRANSCRIPT BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL MANY MONTHS LATER THAT I REALIZED AMUN-RA AND NOT RA WAS THE APPROPRIATE PARALLEL NAME FOR BEL-MARDUK.)
Q: Have you ever read that mysterium —
H: Um-huh.
Q: — about Bel-Marduk?
H: Um-huh. We have a book here in the library about that I believe too. (“BECAUSE OF IT’S”)
Q: Because —
H: You ought to take a look at that.
Q: — I’m very close to his energy source, apparently. I don’t know if I’m channeling him or what is going on but I’m trying to figure it out.
H: Well, you know, it’s a wonderful thing to do. You should look into it.
Q: Yeah. Okay, I’ll look.
O: When do you think that White Bear will come? Because I really don’t want to miss that.
H: I know it. Well, (“PRAYER”) he’s in meditation and prayer. He wants to be shown even more what we can do to prevent destruction. And isn’t that important? My God.
O: Yeah, but see I have to come so far. Three hundred and twenty miles.
H: Where do you live?
O: June Lake.
I: (gasps)
O: Do you know where Mammoth is?
I: That’s the High Sierras.
Q: What is your name?
O: Carol Herzog.
H: What we’ll do. It will be in here. It will be in the calendar.
O: Yeah, but I didn’t get this. If I had got this I could have come a couple weeks earlier.
H: I know it.
O: So what I’m going to do is fill out another one of these and maybe a little letter. And then we were calling —
H: I’ll have to —
O: — the wrong number.
H: Oh dear.
O: Give us the right number.
H: You see, I’ll have to go up and get him because I’ll have to bring him here by car.
O: (to Marie) He isn’t listening, is he?
H: But I’m going to do it.
I: That’s wonderful. What was it like with the energy — the lightning — when that happened?
H: I tell you. I thought I’d go out of my skin. But when that hit and I saw —
I: That crash?
H: — that knot tied on the top and tied tight. It went on down and hung down like a great rope —
I: It gives me chills. (“WAIT”)
H: And I knew what that knot meant. Because I read — and I put — and I said — but I wanted him to say it. I wanted to hear his words.
Q: But it’s also the rope with which mankind hangs himself.
H: Well, that’s true too. And that shows the freedom we have. Here is the unit of heaven on earth. We’re talking about destruction. And the question was to this great teacher. Are there some things we can do? Well, I want him — I won’t assume what his views are of what we can do as a race at this time.
O: I don’t want to miss that. (“YEAH”)
Q: It’s show love for our fellow man.
H: Right.
O: Is your presentation today going to be on tape?
H: It was taped.
O: Can we buy those tapes?
H: It may be available now. What time is it? In about ten minutes they’re ready.
Q: And the title of your lecture today was “The Egyptian Origins of Wisdom.”
H: Exactly. (“GREAT”)
Q: Thank you.
H: You bet.
I: Wonderful. Thanks. (small laugh)
O: Thank you.
( . . . )
Q: Marie and I are on our way to have lunch at Le Belle Epoque restaurant on Hillhurst and, of course, there’s another homeless person with a shopping cart so I took out my usual Interfaith number and $1 to give him. And Marie’s going to give him $1 too. I wish people would realize that God is in each one of us.
( . . . )
Q: Marie and I began talking about Paul Reubens. Of course, I did the press kit for “Big Top Pee-wee.” We think it’s just ridiculous that he lost his TV show for masturbating at a porno film theater when that’s what you’re supposed to do in those places. I mean he wasn’t even caught with a hooker like Hugh Grant was — and it didn’t hurt his career. Marie, what do you think about that?
I: Like who cares? It’s his private life. All the people that destroyed his career do the same damn things themselves probably.
Q: If not worse.
I: Yeah. Who cares? It’s his life. I think he’s very gifted and talented and made a lot of people very happy. And I miss “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.”
Q: By the way, I have a script that would be really right for him. It just needs to be redone for the Pee-wee Herman character. It’s called “Whatever Became of Mickey MacDougall?” I originally did it as a vehicle for Mickey Rooney called “Sonny Skies” but we had creative differences. Roger Corman was even interested in it and Mickey later hired Richard Quine to rewrite it who ended up committing suicide. But, anyway, my script would be a fabulous vehicle for Paul.
( . . . )
Q: (speaking into tape recorder) Tonight my friend James invited me to go see the final episode of “Berlin Alexanderplatz” which I enjoyed very much. On the way home I saw a new Angelyne billboard. And I called my brother and told him about Boyer being our grandmother’s maiden name because I have an acquaintance named Vivian Boyer who is one of my brother’s best friends. She’s a publicist.
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Q: I’m relating some of my journal entries and information and memories that may possibly be important to this case. The film publicity work/titles of Paramount movies I’ve worked on number over a hundred and include “1492: Conquest of Paradise,” the reissue of “1900,” “The Accused,” the “Addams Family” movies, “All I Want for Christmas,” “Almost An Angel,” “Andre,” “Another 48 HRS.,” “Back to the Beach,” “Bebe’s Kids,” “Beverly Hills Cop III,” “Big Top Pee-wee,” “Black Rain,” “Blue Chips,” “The Blue Iguana,” “Body Parts,” “Bopha!,” “Boomerang,” “The Brady Bunch Movie,” “Braveheart,” “The Browning Version,” “The Butcher’s Wife,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “Coming To America,” “Coneheads,” “Congo,” “Cousins,” “Crazy People,” “‘Crocodile’ Dundee II,” “Days of Thunder,” “Dead Again,” “Distant Thunder,” “Drop Zone,” “The Experts,” “Fat Man And Little Boy,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Fire in the Sky,” “The Firm,” “Flashback,” “Flesh and Bone,” “Flight of the Intruder,” “Forrest Gump,” “Frankie and Johnny,” a couple “Friday the 13th” films, “Funny About Love,” “Ghost,” “The Godfather, Part III,” “Graveyard Shift,” “Harlem Nights,” “He Said, She Said,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “The Indian in the Cupboard,” “Internal Affairs,” “Intersection,” “Jennifer Eight,” “Juice,” “Ladybugs,” “Lassie,” “Let It Ride,” “Leap of Faith,” “Losing Isaiah,” “Major League,” “Milk Money,” “Necessary Roughness,” “Pontiac Moon,” “The Naked Gun” films, “A New Life,” “Nick of Time,” “The Perfect Weapon,” “Permanent Record,” “Pet Sematary,” “Plain Clothes,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” “The Presidio,” “Raw,” “School Ties,” “Scrooged,” “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” “Shirley Valentine,” “A Show of Force,” “Sliver,” “Soapdish,” several “Star Trek” films, “Stepping Out,” “Tales from the Darkside: The Movie,” the reissue of “The Ten Commandments,” “The Thing Called Love,” “True Colors,” “Tucker: The Man And His Dream,” “The Two Jakes,” “U2 Rattle and Hum,” “The Untouchables,” “Vampire in Brooklyn,” “Virtuosity,” the “Wayne’s World” films, “Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael,” “We’re No Angels,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Whispers in the Dark.” One of the last projects I worked on was the preliminary notes for “Primal Fear” and the night before I went to Oklahoma I did a news release about “Stephen King’s Thinner” and “Night Falls on Manhattan.” Over the years my unproduced screenplays include “Heartbeat City,” which was registered in 1978 and 1984 and 1986 under different titles; “Brides,” in 1978, ’83, ’91 and ’93. I do a lot of rewriting to get things right. Not that anyone cares. And one of my first screenplays was an adaptation of Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, which was a children’s book my teacher, Miss Hinkley, read to the class when I was in the fifth grade. I registered that script in 1978. I also adapted After Many A Summer Dies The Swan in 1979. That was the first of three Aldous Huxley projects that I did which never were made, of course. The second one was The Genius and the Goddess, an adaptation of the novel, and then an adaptation of the short story “Young Archimedes” by Aldous Huxley — which I called “The Prodigy.” I sent that all around town and it got a very good response. “Ruins,” which I registered in 1980 and a revised version in 1982, was based on a dream I had which is remarkable now in retrospect because one of the major characters is named Rachel and has a speech impediment. It was based on a dream and the story elements include strange experiments performed at a retreat in the woods. “Nostalgia for Demons” is another project I’ve worked on over many years. I think I copyrighted and registered an initial version in 1981. I also registered a revised draft in 1988 and I’m still working on both the novel version and the screenplay version. I wrote a screenplay dramatizing Judgement Day called “The Ultimate” in 1981. I did a project called “The Movie Lovers” about Hollywood before I really had worked in Hollywood or just was beginning to work in Hollywood—in 1982. “Horns” was about a teenager who tries to avoid eternity in limbo and that was registered in 1984. I have adapted To Live Again by Robert Silverberg. I registered various drafts of that in 1985, 1989 and 1994. I’ve done a few teleplays on spec for TV over the years such as an episode for “The Twilight Zone” called “Weird TV.” It was about an alien abduction. “Bob, Son of Battle” I registered in 1985 and 1988. “Sonny Skies” / “Whatever Became of Mickey MacDougall” I registered in 1986 and 1994. 1 wrote a screenplay entitled “Bigfoot Trackers” in 1986 and had submitted it to Jeffrey Katzenberg at Disney not long before that studio came out with a TV movie on the same subject. “Wild Woman” I registered in 1986, 1989, which I renewed in 1994, and 1991 and 1993. I registered my final draft, “Wonder of the World,” this May, 1995. “The Encroacher,” which was my screenplay about the Bell Witch case I registered in 1992. “Everything Is Going To Be Fine,” the story of ‘Chucky’ Mullins, I registered in 1992. I wrote a pilot for a series called “So Far Gone”—an episode entitled “Getting Going”—which I registered in January this year, 1995, and submitted to HBO.
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Q: In A Dictionary of Symbols by J. E. Cirlot, I looked up ‘wild man’ and the definition says: “The image of the Wild Man or savage, covered only with a loin-cloth, or a garment of leaves or skins, is a common one in the folklore of almost every country. It is related to, but not identical with, such mythic beings —”
