Michael Tolkin - 1950
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San Pedro High School in San Pedro, California
I. Biography
Michael Tolkin was born in New York, NY on October 17, 1950. He is the son of a writer and a lawyer. He attended Middlebury College and graduated in 1974. Tolkin is a former journalist who now works as a movie producer and a writer. He lives in Hollywood and his works reflect the celebrity way of life, revealing its corruption and immorality.
II. Literary Works
The Player is a novel that exposes the corruption and hypocrisy of the filmmaking industry. The story is about Griffin Mill, a studio executive who receives anonymous postcards from a writer who claims to have been lied to and cheated by Mill. The book is a crime story, a mystery, and an exposé all in one. For this book Tolkin received many awards, including the Writers Guild Award and the PEN Center USA West Literary Award. The Player has been compared to works by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathanael West.
Among the Dead is a black comedy novel that sheds light on the evil nature of the human spirit. In this story, an adulterous man who pays no attention to his family loses his wife and daughter in an airplane crash. This book received excellent reviews and has been translated around the world.
Three Screenplays is a collection of three of Tolkin's best screenplays: The Player, The Rapture, and The New Age. The Player earned Tolkin the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Crime Screenplay and an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
III. Los Angeles, California, and Michael Tolkin
Tolkin, working in the movie business, naturally lives in Hollywood. The characters of his books nearly always live in Hollywood or somewhere else in the Los Angeles area. Here are a few places in the L.A. area from Tolkin's novel The Player:
Sunset Boulevard: Sunset Boulevard is a very famous street in Hollywood. The street contains well-known restaurants, nightclubs, and broadcasting studios. Griffin rides on this street in his car and limousines often throughout the novel.
Pasadena: Pasadena is a city near Los Angeles in Los Angeles County. The city is home to the California Institute of Technology and the famous annual New Year's Day Rose Parade. This is where Griffin meets David Kahane at the Rialto Theater. The police station where Detective Susan Avery works is also located in Pasadena.
Beverly Hills Hotel: This hotel is a large, famous hotel in Beverly Hills with very expensive rooms where only wealthy people and celebrities stay. The Beverly Hills Hotel is where the celebrity ball takes place when Griffin and June Mercator have their first date.
Polo Lounge: The Polo Lounge is a very famous, elegant restaurant and bar inside the Beverly Hills Hotel. Many celebrities and film executives dine there. Griffin goes there several times during the novel to meet friends or perspective clients or just to have a drink.
Century City: Century City is a community in West Los Angeles with tall buildings and large businesses. The studio where Griffin works is in Century City.
Laurel Canyon: Laurel Canyon is a picturesque canyon between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. Griffin drives by this canyon when he wants to take a scenic route to his house.
Morton's Restaurant: Morton's is a fancy steak restaurant in Hollywood. Griffin meets an Australian producer there for lunch to discuss an idea for a movie.
IV. Works by Michael Tolkin
The Player (1988)
Among the Dead (1995)
V. Sources
The Player by Michael Tolkin
Barnes and Noble biography and book reviews:
Amazon.com book reviews:
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Yahoo.com search:
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Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia:
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This essay was submitted by a student of Grant Farley, a teacher at San Pedro High School in San Pedro, California.