Word: leven
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...season for birdwatching...and of course, a new class of freshmen overtaking the yard. Take out your binoculars and see if you can spot all of the following supple young species, trying oh-so-hard not to look like members of the class of uh-leven. 1)Clumpus Getoutera: Traveling in packs, this species moves from house to house in search of nourishment. Their primary activities include lurking in courtyards and asking where various buildings are located. Often led by one (hot) female member of their population, they lie in wait, listening for the nearest gathering or the sound...
...creative talent produced the novel Creator, which not only sold well but garnered numerous critical accolades for its tale of a man who attempts to resurrect his dead wife via cloning, only to fall in love with the surrogate mother carrying the cloned embryo. With his course work finished, Leven decided to take a leave from Yale to work of his dissertation. But that was soon shelved for another novel, Satan, about the psychotherapy of the Devil, in which he again merged his considerable writing abilities with his experiences from psychiatry and neuroscience to generate another critically-lauded bestseller...
...with that, Leven shifted his focus and aimed it squarely at the entertainment world. Hollywood came calling, and at their request, he transformed his novels into screenplays. Creator became 1985’s The Big Picture, starring Peter O’Toole and Mariel Hemingway, while 2002 saw the release of the Satan adaptation, Crazy as Hell, featuring Eriq LaSalle and Michael Beach. Mr. Leven has moved from success to success as a veteran in the industry, his psychological insight lending a depth to his characterizations even as his talent manages to ground otherwise insubstantial films and allow them...
Fortunately, the film succeeds despite these shackles, thanks in large part to Leven’s screenplay, which jettisons the schmaltz and preserves the essence of the romance that attracted readers and studios in the first place. Leven himself acknowledges the challenge: “The problem with the book is that it’s melodramatic and sweet, and you have to find a way to appeal to an audience that is apprehensive about yet another sweet movie. So you have to give it an edge, make it real and make the choices the characters face real...
...Harvard students interested in someday entering the entertainment industry, Leven recommends any of three approaches: “One, work for an agency or a studio and see how it all works, getting your experience from the inside. Two, go to grad school, make contacts, and come out with samples of your work to present. Three, do it on your own. Find time, write a script, get an agent and raise the money to make it yourself.” And although he’s found that a Harvard degree doesn’t necessarily open any doors...