SMILEY ANDERS

By Smiley Anders

Well, it was close to Hollywood
If I look tired, it’s because I just got back from the 33rd annual conference of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists in Ventura, Calif.
We had writing coaches telling us how to write — a useful skill if you’re going to do a column.
Speakers were all atwitter about tweeting, blogging and Facebooking — proving that the medium is indeed the message.
But the highlight was hearing from three columnists — Jeff Zaslow, co-author of the bestseller “The Last Lecture”; W. Bruce Cameron, whose book “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter” was made into a hit TV series; and Steve Lopez, whose Los Angeles Times columns were the basis for the movie “The Soloist.”
The idea that ink-stained wretches can write bestsellers and have TV shows and movies made from their work thrilled us, their fellow ink-stained wretches.
In “The Soloist” Steve, who looks more like Vin Diesel, is portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.
This led to some discussion about who would play us in a movie.
“You could be played by that short Italian actor,” one columnist told me.
“Who, De Niro? Pacino? DiCaprio?”
“No, Danny DeVito.”

_07/06/09