美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Mad Men' Creator Says Writing A Novel Is Nothing Like TV Writing

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Binge-watching your favorite TV show is sometimes compared to reading a really good novel in one sitting. You tell yourself you'll watch just one more episode. Before you know it, you've watched three, just like you keep moving to the next chapter of a book you cannot put down. But Matthew Weiner says writing a novel is nothing like writing for TV. And he should know. He's the guy who created the very binge-worthy show "Mad Men" and is now trying his hand at being a novelist. NPR's Lynn Neary reports.

LYNN NEARY, BYLINE¹: Matthew Weiner got the idea for his first novel, "Heather, The Totality," when he stopped in New York City for a visit after the end of "Mad Men." He stayed at the luxurious² Carlyle Hotel on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

MATTHEW WEINER: "Mad Men" was long over, but I think there was something to do. I can't remember what it was. Because I - you know, I was on someone else's dime³ for sure.

NEARY: Weiner was back at the Carlyle recently. And we sat down in a quiet nook of the hotel's restaurant to talk. He told me he always wanted to be a writer, but though he loved reading novels, the idea of writing one was intimidating⁴. Instead, he wrote for sitcoms⁶.

WEINER: You know, I wrote the "Mad Men" pilot while I was working on a sitcom⁵. I didn't enjoy the job that I was on, and I thought that it was limiting in many ways. And I just wrote "Mad Men" at night to see what I could do - and because I got advice from someone who said if you can write, you can change your life.

NEARY: Writing that pilot did change his life. Someone got it to David Chase, the creator of "The Sopranos," the groundbreaking show about Tony Soprano, a vicious gangster⁷ and troubled family man who sought the help of a shrink for his anxiety attacks.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SOPRANOS")

JAMES GANDOLFINI: (As Tony Soprano) It's not the first time it's happened recently.

LORRAINE BRACCO: (As Jennifer Melfi) I wish you had told me.

GANDOLFINI: (As Tony Soprano) Yeah, well, I wish you'd cured it.

BRACCO: (As Jennifer Melfi) When the attacks first reappeared, what was going on in your life?

GANDOLFINI: (As Tony Soprano) You had just rebuffed my affections.

NEARY: David Chase hired Weiner as a writer.

WEINER: Once "The Sopranos" was there, everybody got to think differently about TV. And I got to be there in the inside watching this man work and realizing that his measure was - if it was interesting to him and to us in the room - our opinions did matter - then it would be interesting to an audience, not every person in the planet, but an audience. And that whole model changing allowed something like "Mad Men" to happen.

NEARY: "Mad Men" brought to life the misogynist⁸, heavy drinking, sometimes creative, often self-delusional world of advertising⁹ in the 1960s. And Weiner created two of television's most memorable¹⁰ characters, Don Draper and Peggy Olson, here, arguing over who should have credit for the idea behind an award-winning commercial.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MAD MEN")

JON HAMM: (As Don Draper) It's a kernel¹¹.

ELISABETH MOSS¹²: (As Peggy Olson) Which you changed just enough so that it was yours.

HAMM: (As Don Draper) I changed it into a commercial. What, are we going to shoot him in the dark in the closet? That's the way it works. There are no credits on commercials.

MOSS: (As Peggy Olson) But you got the CLIO.

HAMM: (As Don Draper) It's your job. I give you money. You give me ideas.

MOSS: (As Peggy Olson) And you never say thank you.

HAMM: (As Don Draper) That's what the money is for.

NEARY: Weiner is currently working on a new TV series, "The Romanoffs." Between TV shows, he wrote his novel, which he says was a completely different kind of experience.

WEINER: A screenplay is a blueprint¹³ for a film. But this novel, the product is the end result. What you are writing is the thing that it is. It sounds really, like, philosophical¹⁴, but it's not. I can have one of my characters go on the moon, and it doesn't cost anything. I can see them as a child for a sentence, and I don't have to build a set for that. I don't have to cast it. I don't have to scout¹⁵ it. It is what it is.

NEARY: He loved having the freedom to explore the inner life of his characters. And he loved playing with language in a way that's not possible in television.

WEINER: You can really revel¹⁶ in the words when you are writing prose. It's your job to say things not in a complicated, flowery way but in a way where the words are going to give people some pleasure, some surprise, just in the prose itself. And I really enjoyed that experience. It was very - that was liberating¹⁷.

NEARY: "Heather, The Totality" is a slim novel that begins simply, introducing readers to a perfectly¹⁸ pleasant though unremarkable couple, Mark and Karen Breakstone. They live in one of the well-appointed apartment buildings near the Carlyle Hotel.

WEINER: How you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Very good.

WEINER: Good to see you, too.

NEARY: Weiner suggested we go for a walk in the neighborhood because he says that's how he got the idea for "Heather."

WEINER: You know, so much of my life as a writer is made out of observing and eavesdropping¹⁹. And I was just walking and I happened to go down a street and walk by this building. And before I walked by the building, I saw this girl.

NEARY: She was a young girl, Weiner says, about 15, very pretty, kind of innocent looking. A construction worker was standing²⁰ nearby.

WEINER: And I sort of saw her walk into the building. And right at the moment, this guy looked at her. And it really turned my stomach. It made me scared, the way he looked at her.

NEARY: What did you see in the look? What was it?

WEINER: Something between - it's sexual and homicidal at the same time. And I just felt like that girl is not safe in that building. It was not a construction worker leering at a woman - not that that's OK - but it was not what it was. It was something scarier. And she was completely oblivious²¹. And that alone was chilling. And as I walked down Park Avenue, I turned the corner. I just thought, like, maybe because I was afraid for her, I just thought, what if her dad saw that?

NEARY: Weiner knew almost right away that he had the beginning of the story. He began creating the characters in his mind.

WEINER: Who's the dad? And who are the mom and dad that made that girl? Why is that guy interested in that girl? Is it just because she looked that way? What if she was amazing? What if she had this empathic quality that makes her vulnerable, made her oblivious, right?

NEARY: Well, that was one thing I wondered as I was reading the book - I thought, why did he make her such a special kind of girl, not just a pretty, ordinary girl?

WEINER: I know from real life a couple of cases of stories where empathic people are more vulnerable to random²² violence.

NEARY: The story has a sinister²³ quality. The complacency of a well-to-do couple obsessed²⁴ with their pretty, perfect daughter is threatened as their paths cross unknowingly with a sociopath. Weiner fills the story with tension, and he builds towards a surprising climax²⁵. He says he's not exactly sure why, but he knows people like stories that make them anxious.

WEINER: I think it's a weird²⁶ thing, and I can say this as an audience member also - at a certain point as a reader, I'm like, why am I putting myself through this? But it is entertaining. It's our job to make you anxious.

NEARY: Weiner has no plans to leave television. But now that he's gotten a taste of writing a novel, he can imagine doing it again. Lynn Neary, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF RJD2'S "A BEAUTIFUL MINE")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

3 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

4 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

5 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。

6 sitcoms   

n.情景喜剧( sitcom的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This is the stuff most stadard TV sitcoms are made of. 这是大多数标注的电视幽默剧所采用的题材。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In most countries, prime-time Monday night television is dominated by sitcoms. 在大多数国家，周一晚上的电视黄金时段都由连续剧所占据。 来自互联网

7 gangster   

n.匪徒，歹徒，暴徒

参考例句：

• The gangster's friends bought off the police witness.那匪徒的朋友买通了警察方面的证人。
• He is obviously a gangster,but he pretends to be a saint.分明是强盗，却要装圣贤。

8 misogynist   

n.厌恶女人的人

参考例句：

• He quickly gained the reputation of being a misogynist.他很快地赢得了“厌恶女性者”的这一名声。
• Nice try,but you're a misanthrope,not a misogynist.不错了，你讨厌的是世界，不是女人。

9 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

10 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

11 kernel   

n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心

参考例句：

• The kernel of his problem is lack of money.他的问题的核心是缺钱。
• The nutshell includes the kernel.果壳裹住果仁。

12 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

13 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

14 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

15 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

16 revel   

vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢

参考例句：

• She seems to revel in annoying her parents.她似乎以惹父母生气为乐。
• The children revel in country life.孩子们特别喜欢乡村生活。

17 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

18 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

19 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

20 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

21 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

22 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

23 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

24 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

25 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

26 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。