Michael Caine’s novel will most likely be rubbish, but I’m glad he’s found his happy ending | Xan Brooks

Most actors make terrible novelists – but writing the ‘cracking thriller’ Deadly Game was life-affirming for the veteran star, so never mind the finished productGod spare us another millionaire actor who fancies themself as a bestselling author –unless the actor is Michael Caine, in which case good on him, raise your glass. The 90-year mainstay of British cinema spent lockdown writing his first novel, tapping away at his iPad every day, toiling to master the intricacies of the craft. “Paragraphs,” he said. “Punctuation, all that.” The book might be awful. It won’t trouble the Man Booker panel. But in finally completing the thing, Caine has indirectly written himself a happy ending of sorts – the most knackered and lovely writer’s cliche of them all.According to Caine’s publishers, Deadly Game is “a cracking thriller with a real voice and a super twist”, although quite frankly, what else would they say? Specifically, it’s about a London DCI, Harry Taylor, who’s on the trail of a stash of uranium. Potential suspects include a posh art dealer called Julian Smythe, and a dodgy oligarch, Vladimir Voldrev. Also in the mix: a couple of neo-Nazis, a Colombian drug cartel (possibly several, going from the press release) and a pair of cockney refuse collectors. Caine says he got the basic idea from a newspaper story he once read about two East End blokes who found uranium on the rubbish tip. Everything else (the Nazis, the Colombians, dodgy Vladimir) is 100% uncut Michael Caine.... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-08 12:30:07 UTC ]
News tagged with: #happy ending #press release #basic idea #bestselling author #novelists

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The Fall review: Michael Wolff spills the goss on Murdoch, Trump and Fox

The Fire and Fury author returns with a typically readable account of the declining years of a rightwing media behemothIn September, Rupert Murdoch ceded direct control of Fox and News Corp to Lachlan Murdoch, his oldest son. At 92, Rupert became chairman emeritus. He is off the stage but... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-10-01 06:00:36 UTC ]
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Michael Gambon, Dumbledore in Harry Potter films, dead at 82

Veteran actor Michael Gambon, who was known to many for his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight Harry Potter films, has died, his publicist said Thursday. He was 82. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-09-28 12:32:43 UTC ]
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Michael Gambon, star of Harry Potter and The Singing Detective, dies aged 82

The Olivier award-winning actor, whose major film roles included Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series, has died• ‘An actor who let his heart and soul crack open’: David Jays on Michael Gambon• A life in pictures – gallerySir Michael Gambon, whose extraordinary acting career took him from... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-28 11:39:05 UTC ]
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‘Lachlan Murdoch is a Hamlet figure’: Michael Wolff unpicks the real-life succession drama

The author has returned to the Murdoch empire for his latest book, after a bestselling trilogy on Trump. He discusses power, politics, the media and why a person can be a moron and a geniusImmediately before Michael Wolff published The Fall: The End of the Murdoch Empire, the emperor himself,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-27 09:00:54 UTC ]
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Children's Booksellers Anticipate Happy Holidays

In the run-up to the holiday season, we asked a number of booksellers about the children's and YA titles they expect to fly off their shelves, from publishers large and small. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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More Authors, Including Michael Chabon, Sue AI Developers Over Copyright

The claims in the new suits are nearly identical to claims in two previous author class actions filed over the summer by writers, alleging the companies used unauthorized copies of their books to train their AI models. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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These tools from Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey will help you get happier at work

Try the emotional self-management tools from their new book, ‘Build the Life You Want,’ to create a culture of shared growth and happiness. The best advice I’ve received about being myself came from happiness expert Arthur Brooks. While he explained the PANAS test—which measures your Positive... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2023-09-12 05:30:00 UTC ]
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A Summary and Analysis of Raymond Carver’s ‘Happiness’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Happiness’ is a poem by the American writer Raymond Carver (1938-88). Carver is probably best-known for his short stories, especially the anthology favourite ‘What We Talk about When We Talk about Love’, but he was also a gifted poet, and his poetry... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2023-08-12 14:00:47 UTC ]
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Just for funsies, Michael Chabon built a replica of the SFF section of his childhood bookstore.

Michael Chabon—the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Wonder Boys, and The Yiddish Policeman’s Union—spent his Covid quarantine taking a trip…through time! Well, not literally, but in an emotional and curatorial sense, the speculative fiction maestro... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-08-04 16:04:28 UTC ]
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Michael Bakewell obituary

Radio and television producer who was head of plays at the BBC and steered productions of work by Harold Pinter, Alan Plater, Ibsen, Strindberg and Athol FugardNo BBC radio or television producer in the postwar era was more admired within his profession than Michael Bakewell, who has died aged... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-01 16:09:15 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘A Pocketful of Happiness,’ by Richard E. Grant

The Oscar-nominated actor’s new memoir is at once a Hollywood air kiss and a moving tribute to a happy marriage that ended too soon. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-08-01 09:01:10 UTC ]
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child marks seven years in West End

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is marking its seventh anniversary at London’s Palace Theatre Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2023-07-30 06:50:32 UTC ]
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The End of an Era at Penguin Random House

Layoffs, buyouts, and reorganizations abound as the largest trade publisher in the U.S. charts a future course. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Someone found a first edition copy of The Hobbit in a charity shop.

Long, long ago, a 1937 first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was forged by a printing press and sold. For a time, it was lost to man, buried in the piles of donated inventory at the Cancer Research UK superstore in Dundee, Scotland, until manager Adam Carsley spotted the worn copy on the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-12 15:27:21 UTC ]
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Chelmsford hospital defamation case ends in settlement and apology for claims in Scientology book

HarperCollins ‘sincerely apologises’ to doctor for claims about Sydney private hospital in ABC journalist Steve Cannane’s bookFollow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA long-running defamation case sparked... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-03 06:33:55 UTC ]
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Prince Harry asks for £440,000 in damages as phone-hacking case ends

If Harry wins he will have to thank legal precedent set by apprentice chimney sweep 300 years agoIf Prince Harry wins his phone-hacking claim against Mirror Group Newspapers he will have to thank a legal precedent set by an apprentice chimney sweep more than 300 years ago.The royal’s case... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-06-30 16:17:33 UTC ]
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Stop the press: Vienna newspaper Wiener Zeitung ends daily print edition after 320 years

One of the world’s oldest newspapers, the Vienna-based Wiener Zeitung, is ending its daily print run after more than three centuries Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-06-30 10:46:38 UTC ]
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End-of-Year Celebrations That Rock

With the school year winding down, we spoke with three educators about how they help their students look back on what they've learned—and forward to a summer of possibilities—with special end-of-year celebrations. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-06-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A Texas school found the most horrifying way to use public domain Winnie-the-Pooh.

When I saw the trailer for Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, I thought we’d reached the nadir of public domain-enabled re-imaginings, but it turns out, it can get much, much more horrifying than a low-budget slasher. Like a picture book in which the beloved bear must face a school shooter.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-30 16:28:26 UTC ]
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