List of works by William Monahan

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William Monahan, at The Departed's Boston Premiere, Loews Boston Common, on October 3, 2006.
William Monahan, at The Departed's Boston Premiere, Loews Boston Common, on October 3, 2006.

This list of works by William Monahan classifies all known works by William Monahan (born November 3, 1960), an American screenwriter, literary novelist, and former journalist. He was awarded a 1997 Pushcart Prize for his short fiction, and in 2007 won a WGA Award and an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Departed, his second produced script.

While attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in the 1980s to study English literature, Monahan wrote fiction in several of the zines and literary magazines that had recently launched in the Pioneer Valley, and played guitar in a local band called the Slags.[1] His first published piece was a short story titled "At the Village Hall" appearing in the Northampton zine Perkins Press. Two years later, his first novel, Light House, was published serially in the Amherst literary magazine Old Crow Review. In 1994 Monahan moved to New York City and began writing for the alternative weekly newspaper New York Press. Over the following years he wrote and edited for various magazines, including the last four issues of Spy.

In 1998, Monahan sold Light House to Penguin Putnam and was hired by Warner Bros. to adapt it into a film. He committed to a screenwriting career while waiting for his novel to be published as Light House: A Trifle in 2000; it garnered critical acclaim but had lackluster sales. However, in subsequent years he worked heavily as a screenwriter; his first produced screenplay would be Kingdom of Heaven, released to theaters in 2005. He currently resides on the North Shore of Massachusetts with his wife and two children.

Contents

[edit] Light House: A Trifle

Main article: Light House: A Trifle
Book cover from the hardcover release of William Monahan's first novel Light House: A Trifle
Book cover from the hardcover release of William Monahan's first novel Light House: A Trifle

William Monahan's first book was Light House: A Trifle, a satirical novel published in 2000. It is a work intentionally referential to the satirical novels of the early 19th-century British author Thomas Love Peacock, such as Headlong Hall and Nightmare Abbey, and tells the story of an artist named Tim Picasso who seeks refuge at a New England inn in the middle of a nor'easter as he runs afoul of a drug lord.[2]

It was originally serialized in the Amherst literary magazine Old Crow Review from 1993 to 1995 (See section Literature published in Massachusetts).[3] In 1998 Monahan sold Light House to Riverhead Books, a Penguin Group imprint. Subsequently, Warner Bros. optioned the film rights while the manuscript remained unpublished and hired Monahan to write the screenplay adaptation. Penguin Putnam delayed publishing the novel for two years in order to release it concurrent with the anticipated film release, however the film was never produced. Finally, in 2000, the novel was published as Light House: A Trifle; it garnered critical acclaim but had lackluster sales.[4][2] BookPage Fiction's Bruce Tierney called Monahan "a worthy successor to Kingsley Amis"[5] and Alfred Alcorn of The Boston Herald detected "delightful echoes of Vladimir Nabokov, Kingsley Amis, Evelyn Waugh, Flann O'Brien and other modern masters of drollery" in his novel, concluding that "[i]n the end, the girl gets the girl, the bad guys lose, and an old Yankee blows himself up with the eponymous lighthouse and a few chunks of the Virginia Woolf legacy".[6]

Monahan wrote a comic serial narrative at New York Press that made satirical reference to his first novel and his literary career (See Claude La Badarian)[7] and went on a book tour billed as the "Minor Novelists Tour" with his friend Bruno Maddox, another former Spy editor. Maddox's My Little Blue Dress was also published by a Penguin Group imprint.[3][8] Several years later, Monahan confided in an interview with Collider.com that he "really hated the experience of publishing a novel to the extent that [he] bought Light House back from Penguin Putnam and took it off the market while [they] were shooting Kingdom of Heaven".[9] Light House was available in a German edition, translated by Ulrike Seeberger, but went out of print.[10]

[edit] English and German editions

  • — (June 2000). Light house: a trifle. New York: Riverhead Books. ISBN 1-57322-158-9. 
  • — (2001). Light house: Roman. Berlin: Aufbau-Taschenbuch-Verl (translated by Ulrike Seeberger). ISBN 3-7466-1722-7. 

[edit] Literature published in Massachusetts

While attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in the 1980s, Monahan studied Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, and began a literary career publishing in the small presses and zines emerging in the Pioneer Valley.[11] In 1991, he submitted a short story titled "At the Village Hall" to William Georgiades, who published it in a local zine he ran in Northampton, Massachusetts called Perkin Press.[a] A couple years later, Monahan published his first novel Light House as a serial in a literary magazine called Old Crow Review.[3] He continued to contribute to Old Crow Review for many years, following with "The Irish question", a remembrance of his late father, and "Heroin", originally printed in New York Press; he set out the opening of his original screenplay Tripoli in prose form in "Romantic". His last contribution to Old Crow Review, titled "The Virtual Career", fictionalized an electronic keychain game in which a career man makes tragic decisions in New York City.[b]

[edit] Perkins Press

  • — (Late-Summer 1991). "At the Village Hall". Perkins Press 2 (4): 2 tabloid-size pages. [a]

[edit] Old Crow Review

  • — (January 1993). "Venus and the Rain (part 1)". Old Crow Review (1): 16 pages. FkB Press. [b]
  • — (June 1993). "Venus and the Rain (part 2)". Old Crow Review (2): 33 pages. FkB Press. 
  • — (January 1994). "Venus and the Rain (part 3)". Old Crow Review (3): 28 pages. FkB Press. 
  • — (June 1994). "Venus and the Rain/Light house". Old Crow Review (4): 45 pages. FkB Press. 
  • — (January 1995). "Light house". Old Crow Review (5): 67 pages. FkB Press. [12][13]
  • — (December 1995). "The Irish question". Old Crow Review (6): 5 pages. FkB Press. 
  • — (December 1996). "Heroin". Old Crow Review (7): 11 pages. FkB Press. 
  • — (December 1997). "Romantic". Old Crow Review (8): 16 pages. FkB Press. 
  • — (December 2000). "The Virtual Career: an Electronic Keychain Game". Old Crow Review (10): 3 pages. FkB Press. 

[edit] Literature published in New York City

[edit] New York Press (1994, vol. 7)

In 1988, publisher Russ Smith founded a freely-distributed alternative weekly newspaper in New York City called New York Press, which would "[build] much of its reputation by selling itself as the anti-Voice, the heir apparent to The Voice's cultural niche".[14] In 1993, Monahan began writing for New York Press and would quickly become an important contributor to the paper's reputation, characterized by Jules Verdone of The Boston Globe as "the snidest of the snide".[15][c]

  • —. "And Slow It Goes: Portrait of Kurt Vonnegut as Hot Fudge Sundae", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 23 (June 8–14, 1994).
  • —. "Mort de Jackie", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 29 (July 20–26, 1994).
  • —. "The Moor of Brentwood: Separate Realities, Or One Big Cop Show?", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 30 (July 27–August 2, 1994).
  • —. "The Crash of Fashion: Nicole and Trisha Make a Convert", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 38 (September 7–13, 1994).
  • —. "First Person: The Agony & the Excrement: A Scary Home Companion", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 39 (September 28–October 4, 1994).[d]
  • —. "American Chloroform: Selling Indolence With Cornpone Grandeur", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 41 (October 12–18, 1994).
  • —. "A Relation of Various Accidents Observable in Some Animals Included in Vacuo", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 43 (October 26–November 1, 1994).
  • —. "Sex Lies: Ask Me No Questions...", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 44 (November 2–8, 1994).
  • —. "Whale's Jaw: Thar They Blow", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 45 (November 9–15, 1994).
  • —. "Holiday Gift Guide: The Seven Pillars of Christmas", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 48 (November 30–December 6, 1994).
  • —. "Scouting Report: Toys R Us", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 51 (December 21–27, 1994).[d]
  • —. "Scouting Report: Pennywhistle Toys", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 51 (December 21–27, 1994).[d]
  • —. "Filed Away: Another Vain Experiment Fails", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 52 (December 28, 1994–January 3, 1995).

[edit] New York Press (1995, vol. 8)

In 1995 Monahan contributed several controversial essays to New York Press, including "The Angel Factory", "Heroin", and "Dr. Rosenthal, I Presume";[16][17][18] he would not attain a similar level of controversy with his journalism in later years. His cover story titled "Ceci n'est pas une bombe" would years later distinguish him as the only person to solve the Unabomber's lexically-based targeting methodology before the bomber was captured.[19]

  • —. "The Angel Factory: Making Martyrs & Monsters", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 3 (January 18–24, 1995).[20]
  • —. "Scouting Report: Kim's Video West", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 3 (January 18–24, 1995).[d]
  • —. "Driving the Miasma: A Generational Automotive Report", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 5 (February 1–7, 1995).
  • —. "Scouting Report: Kim's West", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 7 (February 15–21, 1995).[d]
  • —. "Scouting Report: Jared Coffin House", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 11 (March 15–21, 1995).[d]
  • —. "Joey Pinhead, College Graduate: Education in an Ignorant Society", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 15 (April 12–18, 1995).
  • —. "Heroin: What Your Uncle Ted Doesn't Know About It", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 17 (April 26–May 2, 1995).
  • —. "Country Matters: Amherst on the Congo", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 20 (May 17–23, 1995).
  • —. "The Barbecutioner's Song: On Smoke, Flame, Boredom and Filial Piety", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 22 (May 31–June 6, 1995).
  • —. "Mercedes Rule: How to Motor in Manhattan", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 24 (June 14–20, 1995).
  • —. "Dr. Rosenthal, I Presume: Don't Burden Yourself", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 25 (June 21–27, 1995).[16]
  • —. "Ceci n'est pas une bombe: The Unexpectedly Literary Unabom Thing", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 29 (July 19–25, 1995).[19]
  • —. "Wisdom Teeth: The Absolute Reality of the Utterly Fake", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 41 (October 11–17, 1995).
  • —. "Actual Modern Popery: Pope-Art Through the Ages", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 42 (October 18–24, 1995).
  • —. "Alcoholics Abominable: Meet the Drunkies", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 45 (November 8–14, 1995).
  • —. "Manhattan Samurai: Swords and Sensibilities", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 48 (November 29–December 5, 1995).
  • —. "Holiday Gift Guide: Guns and H.H. Rose's Biography, Please", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 48 (November 29–December 5, 1995).

[edit] Reception

Monahan's first cover story of the year, titled "The Angel Factory", attacked the Catholic Church for exceeding its charter and emboldening aggressive anti-abortion activists such as John Salvi, the convicted murderer who carried out two fatal attacks on two abortion clinics in Massachusetts, on December 30, 1994.[21][22] This provoked a deluge of letters from incensed readers, among them the President of the Catholic League William A. Donohue, who described Monahan as "a spoiled brat" disappointed with the Catholic Church because "[it] didn't quite meet his adult expectations" and expected he would probably "have much to rant about in the future" given that Catholics were becoming more participatory.[23] The Catholic League included Monahan's cover story in their annual "Report on Anti-Catholicism", complaining that the "article attacked the Church at length, criticizing the sacraments, religious, saints, martyrdom, the Pope, Catholic education, etc..".[20] The letters from readers in the following weeks were focused on dissecting "The Angel Factory" on its merits and responded to the extremist nature of some of the first letters. One reader found "Monahan's selective and erroneous interpretations of the Catholic Church's teachings offensive" and believed "the organized pro-life movement [had] done everything it [could] to discourage any law-breaking activities",[24] while another reader "[identified] with Monahan's growing dismay at his former church's high profile in abortion-clinic harassment".[25] Finally, a reader who had been adopted as a child scorned a group of readers from the first week's letters, who appeared to want to "[decide] what options women should be allowed to consider" and challenged them by proposing that if "[they] really want to rescue babies, rescue them from a life of poverty and neglect, like my parents did".[26]

In a cover story titled "Heroin" (a slightly different version was later published in Old Crow Review), Monahan warned that "heroin's a dangerous, attractive, and highly addictive drug" before arguing that "if you know that going in, and if you're not an idiot, you can use it carefully, extract pleasure, not get addicted, and have a wonderful, controlled experience with a folk medicine as old as recorded history".[27] The article explained in great detail the history, production, use of, and science behind heroin, aiming to enlighten a discussion Monahan believed was largely controlled by "either nervous nellies who are afraid of everything, or victims who should have been".[27] The response from readers ranged from supportive, to amused, to sharply critical, and even to charges of irresponsible journalism, filling the letters column for the following five issues.[28] In the first week, countering the many readers who enjoyed the piece, several former addicts cautioned Monahan about his inexperience, beginning with one who had "encountered very few who [could walk] the tightrope between addiction and stopping"[29] and one who in 15 years of experience with heroin had "never met a sick, desperate junkie who didn't have it well under control at the start",[30] while another admitted that "there are also users who are not predisposed to addiction, but given a fair chance, junk will usually win out and take hold";[31] one reader had done "William Monahan's little experiment for a few weeks earlier [in the] year" and had "got out", vouching that the "article is pretty much on the money".[32] In response to the first week's letters, Monahan retorted that what he had "said about addicts trying to control the debate—indeed, any conversation—about heroin, was obviously profoundly accurate".[33] In the ensuing weeks the letters continued to stream in, with one reader describing the discussion as an "orgiastic burst of self-righteousness" that "was as comical as it was predictable",[34] although the next year Newsday's Jon Fine characterized the readers' discussion on heroin as one "in which, [he] thought, the drug was discussed with greater honesty and clarity than you see almost anywhere else".[18]

The week after The New York Times published A. M. Rosenthal's op-ed "The Possible Dream", which recommended the United States spend $100 million to eradicate female genital mutilation in Africa, Monahan published a rebuttal in New York Press titled "Dr. Rosenthal, I Presume", charging Rosenthal with "cultural imperialism" and explaining that although "clitorectomy is savage, obviously […] it's certainly the least of Africa's problems, and is in fact a response to a number of problems one happens to run across controlling one's environment while living in the bush".[35][36] Many NYPress readers expressed their disgust in the letters column, including fellow NYPress colleague Dawn Eden, who believed the piece "failed as satire because, despite Monahan's attempts at humor, he takes pains to assure readers that he really means it" and "[found] Monahan's reduction of theology facile at best, insulting at worst".[37] However, the same week New York Press published "Dr. Rosenthal, I Presume", The New York Times published a rebuttal from one of its readers who also considered Rosenthal's plan ill-informed and likely to fail because it defines the practice in "terms of male power and sexual repression" instead of as a "mark of cultural identity" designating "one's membership in one's tribe".[38] Finally, a couple of weeks later a New York Press reader pointed out that Monahan was "simply speaking about the necessity of nonintervention—or not to forcefully impose our value judgments on other countries".[39]

Several months after the Unabomber's letter to The New York Times, dated April 24, 1995, in which he promised "to desist from terrorism" if the Times or a similarly respected news journal would publish his manifesto, Monahan wrote an article titled "Ceci n'est pas une bombe" in which he theorized, after studying the publicly available evidence at the time, that the "[Unabomber's] whole campaign, beneath his variety of appearances (airline hater here, anti-academic there, faux Luddite all over the place), is all about making a bizarre play on the Middle English sense of the word 'wood.' ".[40] The Nation's Alexander Cockburn was critical of the article in which "Monahan reckons that the Bomber picks his targets out of Who's Who, with special attention to woody names" and counterposed that "America was originally covered with trees, well over half the street names probably have sylvan content, and since many of our ancestors were in the woods too, the same etymology applies".[41] However, Alston Chase, in his 2003 book Harvard and the Unabomber, singled out Monahan as the only person to solve the Unabomber's lexically-based targeting methodology before the bomber was captured.[19]

[edit] Hamptons magazine

In 1995, Monahan wrote a weekly column for the seasonal Hamptons magazine. At the conclusion of a successful run of his column, which initially "appeared at the back of the book" and eventually "migrated to the masthead" replacing the "Editor's Note", he requested the job of editor of the magazine for the next summer; the publisher granted him the promotion. The next spring Monahan showed up in Long Island, New York and began working as the editor, but after three issues he quit because of what he described in his New York Press cover story "The Burning Deck: My Brilliant Career at Hamptons" as a chaotic and "ridiculously unworkable" workplace environment.[42][43]

[edit] New York Press (1996, vol. 9)

In 1996, Monahan filed a column called "Straw Dogs" from New Hampshire while on the campaign trail for the 1996 U.S. presidential election.

  • —. "Hillary on Golgotha: New Hampshire in the Primary Sense", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 5 (January 31–February 6, 1996).
  • —. "Straw Dogs: It Doles for Thee: And Other Notes From the North", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 6 (February 7–13, 1996).
  • —. "Straw Dogs: Fairytale in New Hampshire", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 7 (February 14–20, 1996).
  • —. "Straw Dogs: Stop the Weasel", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 8 (February 21–27, 1996).
  • —. "Straw Dogs: Steve, Pat & the Strangler Fig", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 9 (February 28–March 5, 1996).
  • —. "Straw Dogs: We Just Get Close", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 10 (March 6–12, 1996).
  • —. "The Chowda Howdah: Where India Meets the Sacred Cod", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 13 (April 3–9, 1996).
  • —. "The Burning Deck: My Brilliant Career at Hamptons", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 29 (July 17–23, 1996).
  • —. "Scouting Report: Clarks Shoes", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 32 (August 7–13, 1996).[d]
  • —. "The Replacement System: A Pomo Party Game", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 47 (November 20–26, 1996).
  • —. "Holiday Gift Guide: Merry Crucifix", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 48 (November 27–December 3, 1996).

[edit] Pushcart Prize

In late 1996, Monahan was awarded a 1997 Pushcart Prize for his short story "A Relation of Various Accidents Observable in Some Animals Included in Vacuo", originally printed in New York Press in 1994 and nominated by Old Crow Review in 1995.[44]

  • — (December 1996). "A Relation of Various Accidents Observable in Some Animals Included in Vacuo", in Bill Henderson: The Pushcart Prize XXI: Best of the Small Presses. Pushcart Press, pp. 419–421. ISBN 978-1888889000. 

[edit] Maxim magazine

On April 1, 1997, the United Kingdom-based men's magazine Maxim launched an American version of its brand. Monahan was hired to write for the New York-based transplant of Maxim during its first years; it had a "pushing-the-envelope style" and experienced rapid circulation growth, managing to outperform its competitors in the men's magazine category within a couple of years.[45][46]

[edit] The New York Post

In 1997 Monahan reviewed several books for The New York Post, including Oliver Stone's A Child's Night Dream and Jay Robert Nash's Spies.[47][e]

[edit] New York Press (1997, vol. 10)

Although less prolific in 1997, Monahan continued to write for New York Press, even contributing to the newly introduced quarterly "Books & Publishing" supplement, which became a monthly the next year but was eventually discontinued.[48]

  • —. "Tinytown: Diamonds are the Weather", New York Press, vol. 10, no. 1 (January 1–7, 1997).[d]
  • —. "Tinytown: Trapped Like Rats on W. 46th", New York Press, vol. 10, no. 2 (January 8–14, 1997).[d]
  • —. "Tinytown: Fur Forgiven", New York Press, vol. 10, no. 3 (January 15–21, 1997).[d]
  • —. "Tinytown: Mr. Rodriguez' Neighborhood", New York Press, vol. 10, no. 4 (January 22–28, 1997).[d]
  • —. "Tinytown: Coney Built an Island", New York Press, vol. 10, no. 6 (February 5–11, 1997).[d]
  • —. "Scoundrels at the Gates: On The Dictionary of Global Culture", New York Press's Books & Publishing: A Quarterly Supplement, no. 1, (February 12–18, 1997).
  • —. "Location Joke: On The Atlas of Literature", New York Press, vol. 10, no. 10 (March 5–11, 1997).
  • —. "Obviously Shake-Scene: On Alias Shakespeare", New York Press's Books & Publishing: A Quarterly Supplement, no. 2, (April 30–May 6, 1997).
  • —. "M1: It Really Was Father's Day", New York Press, vol. 10, no. 23 (June 11–17, 1997).

[edit] Spy magazine

While Bruno Maddox was editor-in-chief of the New York-based satirical magazine Spy, Monahan was hired as an editor and worked on the last four issues prior to Spy's shutdown in 1998, including the issues of October 1997, November 1997, December 1997/January 1998 (Holiday Issue), and finally March 1998.[49]

[edit] New York Press (1998, vol. 11–1999, vol. 12)

During the years 1998 to 1999, Monahan contributed several cover stories to New York Press, including dispatches from the United Kingdom.

  • —. "Vanity Plates: Something's Got to Give", New York Press, vol. 11, no. 8 (February 25–March 3, 1998).
  • —. "Up New Hampshire: Dark Thoughts in Dixville Notch", New York Press, vol. 11, no. 52 (December 30, 1998–January 5, 1999).
  • —. "The Last American Smoker: ...And That's Why I'm Leaving!", New York Press, vol. 12, no. 24 (June 16–22, 1999).
  • —. "Cymru: A Week in Llareggub", New York Press, vol. 12, no. 27 (July 7–13, 1999).
  • —. "The World in Revolt: Amherst Takes Back the World From Greed and Death", New York Press, vol. 12, no. 49 (December 8–14, 1999).

[edit] Talk magazine

Talk magazine was financed by Harvey Weinstein through his independent film company Miramax, and was run by Tina Brown as editor-in-chief until its shutdown in January 2002.[50] Talk's premiere issue launched in August of 1999 and included Monahan's only contribution to the magazine: an essay on the depiction of Gloucester, Massachusetts in the movies titled "So Seedy!". In 2000, his novel Light House: A Trifle was featured in Talk's Talk10: a list of "Ten books to keep you talking all month long."[51]

A launch party for Talk was held at the foot of the Statue of Liberty on 2 August 1999, featuring 800 guests consisting almost entirely of celebrities and few of the magazine's staff.[52] In 2001, a satirical open letter was published in New York Press, in one of Monahan's "Dining Late with Claude La Badarian" columns, addressed to Tina Brown, inquiring about a party invitation that was supposedly forthcoming and anticipating that "after two years of planning, it ought to be a corker".[53]

  • —. "So Seedy! Smell that fish bait! Gloucester's a perfect town for pictures", Talk magazine, September 1999, Premiere issue, p. 82.[54]

[edit] New York Press (2000, vol. 13–2001, vol. 14)

In a cover story titled "A Glimpse of Bush" Monahan reported on the NY campaign trail and described an encounter with George W. Bush aboard a chartered airplane. Later in the year, he wrote a review of the Big Bad Bollocks album Night on the Tiles, followed by a review of Jad Adams' book on Ernest Dowson, Madder Music, Stronger Wine.

  • —. "Stoned in Amherst", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 2 (January 12–18, 2000).[55]
  • —. "A Glimpse of Bush: Happy Cowpoke George W. Hits the NY Campaign Trail", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 10 (March 8–14, 2000).[56]
  • —. "Scouting Report: Smelling Salts: Meet the Vapors", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 10 (March 8–14, 2000).[d]
  • —. "Scouting Report: InYourPants.com: Internet Underwear", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 12 (March 22–28, 2000).[d]
  • —. "Scouting Report: Cheap Smokes: Texas Cigarette Machine", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 14 (April 5–11, 2000).[57][d]
  • —. "New York City: Mermaid Parade: Coney-Catching", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 26 (June 28–July 4, 2000).[58][d]
  • —. "A Night on the Tiles: The Big Bad Bollocks & the Mirror of England", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 27 (July 5–11, 2000).[59]
  • —. "A Gallows Sermon: Life & Death Among the Decadents", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 41 (October 11–17, 2000).
  • —. "Daily Billboard: Defeat Death: Kill Someone", New York Press, vol. 14, no. 21 (May 21, 2001).

[edit] "Dining Late with Claude La Badarian"

Portrait of Claude La Badarian by Antony Zito (www.ZitoGallery.com) from the original serial run in 2001.
Portrait of Claude La Badarian by Antony Zito (www.ZitoGallery.com) from the original serial run in 2001.

On June 21, 2001, the alternative weekly New York Press published a piece of fiction by Monahan in which a character named Claude La Badarian proposes a column titled "Dining Late with Claude La Badarian" to Henry, the publisher of The Aristocrat magazine, under the threat of blackmail. The column debuted the next week in New York Press, pseudonymously written by Monahan as the fictional restaurant critic Claude La Badarian, taking the form of a weekly letter, addressed usually to Henry but occasionally addressed to others, including Jesus Christ, and well known magazine editors Tina Brown and Graydon Carter.[7] The comic narrative ran for a total of thirteen columns and made satirical reference to Monahan's literary career and his first novel Light House: A Trifle. Aside from the proposal, each column published in the print edition of New York Press contained a portrait of the mysterious Claude La Badarian, drawn by Antony Zito, a New York portrait painter and curator. Although the serial is a self-satire of Monahan, Claude La Badarian's adventures are modeled after the posthumous memoirs of the early 17th-century French aristocrat Claude de Bourdeille, comte de Montrésor.[f]

It's ordained […] that I can never write satire of other people: I can start to do it, but God has ordained that I am smart enough to turn the burning glass around on myself: the only person I ever satirize, thank Christ, is myself. I have a built-in, possibly Catholic, ethical alarm system.
—William Monahan[60]

The Claude La Badarian character is a journalist and a novelist whose debut-novel is titled Second Novel and who is working on an ongoing novel.[7] Occasionally, a fictional Monahan enters the narrative and in one encounter explains his intent to appropriate Second Novel as a working title for his next novel "which confronts the 'second novel' issue head-on" as well as to fictionalize "a blackmailed dining column written by a delusional media scumbag" as "a small yet integral part of" Second Novel.[61][62] At the conclusion of the serial, the real Monahan went on a book tour for Light House: A Trifle with fellow novelist Bruno Maddox and was working as a screenwriter. He has yet to follow-up with the alleged second novel.[g]

The authorship of the "Dining Late with Claude La Badarian" column was a mystery to those readers of New York Press who had not read the initial proposal. The occasional reader surmised Monahan was the author, but others were bewildered despite the many clues available in the columns. A few readers thought Claude La Badarian was Taki Theodoracopulos, a fellow NYPress columnist, or at least "a small nod in Taki’s direction".[h][63][64] In a brief mention of an upcoming book party for Light House in New York City, The New York Post's Page Six gossip column jested that the "[hosts are] hoping Monahan's nemesis, Aristocrat magazine scribe Claude La Badarian, who's been baiting him in the New York Press, doesn't cause a scene".[65] An Amazon.com profile for Claude La Badarian created in 2001 reveals that La Badarian was a resident of Colebrook, New Hampshire and a fan of the hard rock band The Unband, considering them "the only band worth listening to, globally".[66][67] After the column concluded, a reader expressed how he "never enjoyed [NYPress's] memoir columns […] but Claude was different" and esteemed that Claude "left himself room for a sequel".[68]

[edit] Bookforum magazine

[edit] Literature published in Los Angeles

In 1998, Monahan was hired to write the screenplay adaptation of his novel Light House: A Trifle and shifted his efforts exclusively to screenwriting.[9] In an essay titled "One flew over the Boston fence", published prior to the 2007 Academy Awards, he discusses his roots.

[edit] Notes

  • a. ^  William Georgiades was the sole editor of Perkins Press, located on Perkins Ave. in Northampton, Massachusetts. The zine was printed on 11.4 inches by 17 inches (29 cm × 43 cm) tabloid newsprint and ran from 1990 to 1994.
  • b. ^  All issues of Old Crow Review are available at the W.E.B. Du Bois Library located at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, except for issue 12 which is mysteriously missing from all U.S. libraries. Each periodical is 100 pgs. long. Tawnya Kelley Tiskus was the editor-in-chief and John Gibney was the publisher.
  • c. ^  The listed New York Press material was retrievable from the New York Public Library as of late 2007. All volumes of New York Press are available at the NYPL, although some issues are missing from certain volumes, and likewise some pages are missing from certain issues. The Microform Reading Room has volumes 1 to 10 available on microform. The DeWitt Wallace Periodical Room has volumes 11 to current available in the original newsprint, although only the most recent issues are available on the shelves with the older volumes available on a truck if requested from the desk. The microform collection is slightly more complete than the newsprint issues, however, both have problems: the second page of "Driving the Miasma" (2/95) is missing in the microform reel, and the entire cover story "The Last American Smoker" (6/99) is missing in the newsprint stacks except for a torn up front page. Occasionally the text in both microform and newsprint issues is covered by a mailing address adhesive label.
  • d. ^  The "Scouting Report", "First Person", "New York City", and "Tinytown" columns were regular staples of the alternative weekly New York Press, not usually longer than a single newsprint page, and written by different writers every week.
  • e. ^  Monahan's book reviews for The New York Post are all available on microform at the New York Public Library in New York City as of late 2007. The only book review available through LexisNexis Academic is Monahan's last one on Jay Robert Nash's Spies since the LexisNexis archive of The New York Post only goes back to 1998.
  • f. ^  In the last "Dining Late with Claude La Badarian" column, "The Grapes Of Claude", Monahan renames his character Claude La Badarian as Mr. Packwood, of Montresor Creative Services, Inc. and explains that the critical word is "Montresor." The French aristocrat Claude de Bourdeille, comte de Montrésor, similarly to Claude La Badarian, was on the run from authorities and lived in exile for a duration; he wrote about these experiences in Mémoires, published posthumously in 1663, written with a candid frankness and quite interesting for scholars of the period.
  • g. ^  As of 2007, a second novel has not yet been published.
  • h. ^  Mentions of Claude La Badarian by readers in New York Press' letters column occur first in Volume 14, issue 27, two weeks after the commencement of the column, and then in issues 31, 32, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, and lastly—a plea for a sequel—in issue 42. The "Dining Late with Claude La Badarian" column ran from issues 25 to 37.
  • i. ^  As of February 2008, all the "Dining Late with Claude La Badarian" columns were accessible on New York Press web site.
  • j. ^  Because the title "Seazed by Hindoos" is only listed in the table of contents of Issue 32 of Volume 14 (2001) and not in the "Dining Late with Claude La Badarian" column itself, all the column's titles are pulled from each weekly issue's table of contents and not the columns themselves. The other exceptions are "A Column Debuts", "Living Independently: A Case of Mistaken Identity", and "Dear Tina Brown".

[edit] References

  1. ^ William Georgiades (1991). "Contributors Notes". Perkins Press 2 (4). "William Monohan [sic] 'writes fiction and plays guitar for the Slags.' A long (but it's worth it) short story eats up pages 12 and 13."
  2. ^ a b Juan Morales. "His success story? An epic: 'Kingdom of Heaven' is William Monahan's first produced script, but Ridley Scott, for one, expects more", Los Angeles Times through LexisNexis Academic, 2005-05-04. 
  3. ^ a b c Darcy Cosper. "Writer's 'trifle' Aims Higher", The Hartford Courant through LexisNexis Academic, 2001-10-02. 
  4. ^ US-Ireland Alliance (2007-02-26). "Van Morrison, Terry George and Bill Monahan honored in LA". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-03-05.
  5. ^ Bruce Tierney (2000). Review: Light House. BookPage Fiction. Retrieved on 2007-03-15.
  6. ^ Alfred Alcorn. "To the 'Lighthouse' for fun - Debut novel a droll delight", The Boston Herald through LexisNexis Academic, 2000-07-16. 
  7. ^ a b c William Monahan. "The Last Supper: Being eventually a PROPOSAL for a column called DINING LATE WITH CLAUDE LA BADARIAN, By Claude La Badarian", New York Press, 2001-06-21. Retrieved on 2007-03-06. 
  8. ^ "Authors at Real Art Ways", The Hartford Courant through LexisNexis Academic, 2001-09-20. 
  9. ^ a b "William Monahan – Exclusive Interview", Collider.com, 2007-02-18. Retrieved on 2007-02-20. 
  10. ^ (German) Light House: Roman. Aus d. Amerikan. v. Ulrike Seeberger von William Monahan. Buch.de. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
  11. ^ John Koch. "Profane Eloquence: Through the words of William Monahan, Boston swagger meets Hong Kong crime drama", Written By, The Writers Guild of America, West. Retrieved on 2007-03-07. 
  12. ^ (September 1996) in Len Fulton: The International Directory Of Little Magazines And Small Presses, 32nd edition, DustBooks, p. 442. ISBN 978-0916685560. 
  13. ^ "Arts & Letters" (October 1995). Factsheet Five (58): p. 112. R. Seth Friedman. ISSN 0890-6823. 
  14. ^ Janny Scott. "New York Weeklies Stage a Free-for-All: Voice and Press in Give-Away Battle", The New York Times, 1996-04-23. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  15. ^ Jules Verdone. "A novel en route to the screen", The Boston Globe through LexisNexis Academic, 2000-09-18. 
  16. ^ a b Dawn Eden. "Crusades-Film Writer's Personal Jihad", The Dawn Patrol, 2005-05-07. Retrieved on 2007-03-17. 
  17. ^ Jon Fine. "Oscar-Winner William Monahan's (Poorly Documented) Past Life", BusinessWeek, 2007-02-26. Retrieved on 2007-03-06. 
  18. ^ a b Jon Fine. "PUSHING 30 / Heroin Isn't `Back' - It Really Never Left", Newsday through LexisNexis Academic, 1996-08-27. 
  19. ^ a b c Chase, Alston (March 2003). Harvard and the Unabomber: The Education of an American Terrorist. W. W. Norton & Company, pp. 43–44. 
  20. ^ a b 1995 Report on Anti-Catholicism. Catholic League (1996). Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
  21. ^ William Monahan. "The Angel Factory: Making Martyrs & Monsters", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 3 (January 18–24, 1995).
  22. ^ Fox Butterfield. "Man Guilty Of 2 Murders In Storming Abortion Sites", The New York Times, 1996-03-19. Retrieved on 2007-12-15. 
  23. ^ William A. Donohue. "The Mail: Alter Boy", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 4 (January 25–31, 1995). "There is a difference between reasonable criticism and irrational diatribes, and if anyone wants to know what qualifies as the latter, I would advise them to read William Monahan's screed "The Angel Factory." Poor Bill, the Catholic Church didn't quite meet his adult expectations and now, like a spoiled brat, he turns his disappointment into rage. And given the willingness of lay Catholics to become more participatory (I'm sure he likes that word), chances are that bitter Bill will have much to rant about in the future.—William A. Donohue, President, Catholic League, Manhattan" 
  24. ^ "The Mail: God's Spokesman", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 5 (February 1–7, 1995).
  25. ^ "The Mail: Left in the Church", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 5 (February 1–7, 1995).
  26. ^ "The Mail: The Real Test", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 5 (February 1–7, 1995).
  27. ^ a b William Monahan. "Heroin: What Your Uncle Ted Doesn't Know About It", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 17 (April 26–May 2, 1995).
  28. ^ "The Mail", New York Press, vol. 8, from no. 18 (May 3–9, 1995) until no. 22 (May 31–June 6, 1995).
  29. ^ "The Mail: See Your Local Dealer", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 18 (May 3–9, 1995). 
  30. ^ "The Mail: To the Junkyard", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 18 (May 3–9, 1995). 
  31. ^ "The Mail: Betcha Can't Eat Just One", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 18 (May 3–9, 1995). 
  32. ^ "The Mail: Killer Pickup Line", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 18 (May 3–9, 1995). 
  33. ^ "The Mail: William Monahan replies to Just Say Whoa", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 18 (May 3–9, 1995). "William Monahan replies: What I said about addicts trying to control the debate—indeed, any conversation—about heroin, was obviously profoundly accurate. For the record, I have far less interest in heroin than any of these correspondents, to whom heroin, whether they're doing it or not doing it, seems to be their main way to be interested in themselves. These people say, and have to say, You are like me. You will end up like me. What heroin does, they say, is what happened to me. And they have to believe it, they're obligated, because otherwise their cosmology flies to pieces, and they're in the middle of a different universe (which is to say, the real one), looking at someone less admirable in the mirror. Someone, say, who couldn't handle opiates, or freedom.
    That's impossible—can't be dealt with—so therefore nobody can handle opiates, and there is no freedom—a curious thesis. When opiates were available on the shelves, some people repeatedly narcotized themselves until they died, and some people were building the city and civilization you're sitting in now. What caused that divorcement of occupation?
    You tell me. You're obviously the experts.
    I didn't make up reality, I only live here." 
  34. ^ "The Mail: Aborted Discussion", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 20 (May 18–24, 1995). 
  35. ^ A. M. Rosenthal. "On My Mind: The Possible Dream", The New York Times, 1995-06-13. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  36. ^ William Monahan. "Dr. Rosenthal, I Presume: Don't Burden Yourself", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 25 (June 21–27, 1995).
  37. ^ Dawn Eden. "The Mail: Eden Casts Out", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 26 (June 28–July 4, 1995). 
  38. ^ "Africans View Circumcision as Rite", The New York Times, 1995-06-22. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  39. ^ "The Mail: Custer's Stand", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 28 (July 12–18, 1995). 
  40. ^ William Monahan. "Ceci n'est pas une bombe: The Unexpectedly Literary Unabom Thing", New York Press, vol. 8, no. 29 (July 19–25, 1995).
  41. ^ Alexander Cockburn. "Beat The Devil: Blame Him On Social Science". The Nation through LexisNexis Academic, vol. 261, no. 6 (November 08, 1995)
  42. ^ (December 1996) "Contributors' notes", in Bill Henderson: The Pushcart Prize XXI: Best of the Small Presses (1997). Pushcart Press. ISBN 978-1888889000. “WILLIAM MONAHAN has edited a magazine on Long Island, lived in New York City, and is now on the road.” 
  43. ^ William Monahan. "The Burning Deck: My Brilliant Career at Hamptons", New York Press, vol. 9, no. 29 (July 17–23, 1996).
  44. ^ William Monahan. "A Relation of Various Accidents Observable in Some Animals Included in Vacuo", New York Press, vol. 7, no. 43 (October 26-November 1, 1994).
  45. ^ Susan Wloszczyna. "William Monahan: His 'Departed' left Hong Kong for the USA", USA Today, 2007-02-15. Retrieved on 2007-02-25. 
  46. ^ Tony Silber. "Felix Dennis - owner of Dennis Publishing forwards Maxim magazine", Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management reprinted by FindArticles.com, 1999-04-15. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  47. ^ William Georgiades. "Required Reading", The New York Post, 2007-02-25. Retrieved on 2007-03-04. 
  48. ^ Karen Angel. "Media Talk; Publishing Industry Has Surge in Book Reviews", The New York Times, 1998-07-06. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  49. ^ Sam Allis. "Standing at the corner of Shakespeare and Scorsese", The Boston Globe, 2006-10-03. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. "Spy failed four issues after I started." 
  50. ^ Peter Biskind (2004). Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film. Simon & Schuster, pp. 378, 450. ISBN 978-0684862583. 
  51. ^ "Talk10", Talk magazine, June/July 2000, p. 129. "LIGHT HOUSE By William Monahan. Hilarious New England farce drenched in salt spray, rum, bodily fluids, and gasoline. (Riverhead, $21.95)" 
  52. ^ David Carr. "Talk of the Town", Salon.com, 1999-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-09-15. 
  53. ^ Claude La Badarian. "Dear Tina Brown", New York Press, 2001-07-25. Retrieved on 2007-03-07. 
  54. ^ Russ Smith. "MUGGER: I’m in Bermuda and Rick Lazio Isn’t", New York Press, 1999-08-11. Retrieved on 2007-03-08. 
  55. ^ "MAILBOX", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 4, 2000-01-25. Retrieved on 2007-03-30. 
  56. ^ Jim Knipfel. "Hallelujah, the Missiles Are Flying", New York Press, vol. 14, no. 11 (March 13–19, 2001).
  57. ^ "MAILBOX", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 16, 2000-04-18. Retrieved on 2007-05-08. 
  58. ^ "MAILBOX", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 28, 2000-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-03-30. 
  59. ^ "MAILBOX", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 29, 2000-07-18. Retrieved on 2007-05-08. 
  60. ^ William Monahan. "A Night on the Tiles: The Big Bad Bollocks & the Mirror of England", New York Press, vol. 13, no. 27 (July 5–11, 2000), p. 28.
  61. ^ Claude La Badarian. "That Asshole, Monahan", New York Press, 2001-08-15. "To my horror, Monahan said that his next plan was to do a blackmailed dining column written by a delusional media scumbag. It would be a small yet integral part of what, with apologies to me, he was calling Second Novel." 
  62. ^ Sam Allis. "Standing at the corner of Shakespeare and Scorsese", The Boston Globe, 2006-10-03. Retrieved on 2007-06-10. "Before the script gods smiled upon him, Monahan had two novels in the drawer." 
  63. ^ "MAILBOX", New York Press, vol. 14, no. 35, 2001-08-28. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  64. ^ "MAILBOX", New York Press, vol. 14, no. 39, 2001-09-25. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  65. ^ "Page Six: 'Light' fare", The New York Post, 2001-08-25. Retrieved on 2007-01-15. 
  66. ^ Claude La Badarian's Profile. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
  67. ^ Mike Ruffino. "Almost Infamous: The Unband/Def Leppard Tour", New York Press, 2001-05-15. Retrieved on 2007-09-10. 
  68. ^ "MAILBOX", New York Press, vol. 14, no. 42, 2001-10-16. Retrieved on 2007-11-10. 
  69. ^ Bookforum: Spring 2001 Table of Contents. Bookforum. Retrieved on 2007-04-09.
  70. ^ Bookforum: Summer 2001 Table of Contents. Bookforum. Retrieved on 2007-04-08.
  71. ^ ScriptFly.com sells the script. WorldCat is used to cite the document here
  72. ^ The shooting script for The Departed is published electronically by Warner Bros. and was retrievable as of 16 May 2007.

[edit] External links