Petru Popescu

Petru Popescu (born February 1, 1944 in Bucharest, Romania) is a Romanian-American writer, director and movie producer, author of best-selling [1] novels "Almost Adam" and "Amazon Beaming".

Contents

Romanian beginnings

A graduate of Spiru Haret high-school, he studied literature at the Bucharest University, graduating in 1967. His debut was a collection of poems, "Zeu printre blocuri" (A God Between Apartment Buildings). In 1969 he published "Prins" (Caught), a novel of grand succes, which launched him as a reference writer in Romanian literature. He went on a scholarship to Vienna (1971–1972), and in 1974 accepted an invitation from the University of Iowa to participate in the International Writing Program. Once there, he decided to defect and settle in the United States. From then on, he steadily followed a successful path as a novelist and author of several Hollywood movie scripts.[2]

He is known for his romance with Zoia Ceausescu, daughter of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, but claims are said to be exaggerated by the media and the Securitate,[3] or even false.[4]

Emigration

When Popescu defected to England in 1975, the Romanian government tried him for treason. All his works in Romania were destroyed, and he was forbidden to return to Romania, an edict that reversed when Nicolae Ceausescu lost power in 1989.[5] A year later, Popescu moved to the United States.[6] He keeps a photograph of his role model Joseph Conrad above his desk.[7]

Sundance

Popescu received a letter from Robert Redford inviting him to submit a script for consideration for the Sundance Film Festival. In 1983, Popescu took Death of an Angel to Sundance, where the script came to near finalization. The festival enabled him to find backers for the film, which was released in 1986.[8][9]

Personal life

In 1978, he moved to Beverly Hills and married Iris Friedman, a Jewish woman of Czech origin. They have two children: Adam (born 1985) and Chloe (born 1989). He often returned to Romania after 1992, where most of his works have been translated from English, and published.[10]

Works

Novels written in Romanian

Bibliography in English

[11]

Movies

[2]

References

  1. ^ Macmillan Publishing, USA http://us.macmillan.com/torteen/weregirlsbirthofthepack
  2. ^ a b IMDB: Petru Popescu
  3. ^ Interviu cu Petru Popescu Cotidianul din 30 Septembrie 2008
  4. ^ Zoia Ceauşescu şi Supleantul, Puterea 25 sep 2010
  5. ^ Basbanes, Nicholas A (11 August 1996). "Ancient Civilizations Inspired Almost Adam". Toledo Blade. 
  6. ^ Kleiner, Dick (14 August 1984). "Romanian Director Finds Pleasure in American Life". Ocala Star-Banner. 
  7. ^ Basbanes, Nicholas A (11 August 1996). "Author's Tale as Excitng as a Novel". Eugene Register-Guard. 
  8. ^ "Redford Helps Romanian Director". Toledo Blade. 19 August 1984. 
  9. ^ "Thanks to Robert Redford-Independent Filmmaker Gets Chance to Prove His Ability". Schenectady Gazette. 21 July 1984. 
  10. ^ "Eastern European Author Revisits His Roots". Gadsden Times. 22 October 1997. 
  11. ^ ^ Google books: Petru Popescu http://books.google.com/books?as_auth=Petru+Popescu&source=an&ei=SVIbSp-tAdSCkQX61sX-DA&sa=X&oi=book_group&ct=title&cad=author-navigational&resnum=4