To whom it may concern

by Dwayne A. Day

Monday, February 12, 2007

Michael Cassutt is a writer who has worked in several genres over the years. He is perhaps best known in science fiction circles as a television writer, penning episodes for shows such as Farscape, Stargate SG-1, and the late, lamented American version of Max Headroom (which was brought to us live, from “20 minutes into the future…”). He has also written several near-future science fiction books, set in the current space program. These include Tango Midnight, Missing Man, and Red Moon, about a murder investigation in the Russian space program during the height of the Moon race.

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TSR: What authors have you found most inspirational? Who do you really admire in your various fields?

Cassutt: See the list of authors above for a start. I would add Greg Bear, Connie Willis, Philip K. Dick, Jack McDevitt, Allen Steele, Wilson Tucker, and Neal Stephenson. I’m a big fan of Robert Crais’ mystery novels.

More mainstream influences… Kurt Vonnegut, Gore Vidal, the often-neglected Sinclair Lewis, and my all-time favorite writer, Kingsley Amis.

In television, I am a big fan of two writers I’ve worked for, Karl Schaefer co-creator of Eerie, Indiana, and Ann Lewis Hamilton. I’ve long admired Steven Bochko and Dick Wolf as producers and writers.

Tom Wolfe has been a big influence on my non-fiction mind, and not just for The Right Stuff. David McCullough. James Oberg.

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TSR: You’ve been involved in a lot of projects over the years. Which ones are you most proud of? Which ones were the most fun?

Cassutt: I’m very proud of the Who’s Who books as well as Deke! Also my historical space novel, Red Moon, and a couple of my short stories.

The most fun? Writing scripts for the Eerie, Indiana, television series. Not only did I get to work with people like John Astin and Ray Walston (heroes of my early TV watching days), but with directors like Joe Dante, Ken Kwapis and Bob Balaban. The tone of Eerie was perfectly suited to my twisted small-town sensibilities.

Max Headroom, of course, was another series that I was born to write, but the hours and schedule were on the brutal side. I enjoyed the results, but the process was a bit of a challenge.

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Lightning Round:

Favorite baseball player?

Kirby Puckett, Minnesota Twins

Favorite book?

Heinlein’s Have Space Suit, Will Travel. Close second, Way Station by Clifford Simak.

What are you reading now?

Making my decadal attempt to read Gravity’s Rainbow. For fun I’m reading some of the new Hard Case Crime mysteries, most recently Fade to Blonde by Max Phillips.

Favorite movie?

I can do top three: The Godfather, October Sky, and Five Easy Pieces.

Favorite TV show on now?

House.

Favorite TV show of all time?

Hill Street Blues.

If you could be any animal in the world, what would it be?

Raven.

Many happy returns to the man behind Tornado Days and the Loyal Order of Corn!

ETA: Okay, I can't get this to embed or play for me at all, blargh!

Anyway, here is the blurb for it from the Mythbehaving website!

What a treat to have Michael Cassutt on the podcast! Author, screenwriter, producer, Michael brings a wealth of information to our newest episode. I first met Michael at a book festival in Southern California through our mutual friend, Tim Powers. Michael's extensive experience, with over thirty years in the TV and publishing industries, make for some great stories and fun times. Please join us for his fabulous interview on our newest episode! Michael Cassutt Michael Cassutt is a writer of fiction, non-fiction (fourteen books, thirty short stories, two-hundred articles), and over sixty television scripts. His most recent novel is Heaven's Fall, with David S. Goyer (Ace paperback, August 2014), the last of a trilogy already sold to Warner Studios as a feature film series. His short stories, largely SF and fantasy, have appeared in Asimov's SF Magazine and The Year's Best SF. As a writer of non-fiction, his specialty is the American and Russian space programs. He co-authored a pair of astronaut biographies (Deke! and We Have Capture) and contributes to Air & Space/Smithsonian. He has also made several appearances on The History Channel. Among his television credits are The Twilight Zone, Max Headroom, Eerie, Indiana, Beverly Hills 90210, and The Dead Zone. He is currently Co-Executive Producer of SyFy Channel’s forthcoming Z Nation, premiering in September 2014. And he is collaborating with George R R Martin on an original concept for HBO. Michael is also an adjunct professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Read on for more about Micheal and his exciting career... Excerpts from Episode 33 Michael on having original ideas for writing: "The idea you think is brilliant, unique and original is being pitched at the same time by somebody else who you've never met or heard of." Michael on getting his start as a writer: "What a lot of people my age started writing were science fiction short stories and getting them published in the magazines and anthologies back in the 1970s." Heaven's Fall Twenty years have passed since the mysterious Near-Earth Object nicknamed Keanu appeared in the night sky and transported an assortment of humans from all over Earth into its interior. There they discovered that Keanu was an immense long-range spaceship—and they were not its only inhabitants. They joined forces with the aliens called the Architects, who had come from a distant galaxy to seek help in fighting the vicious Reivers. And they defeated them—or so they thought.Now Keanu has reestablished contact with Earth—and discovered that the Reivers have, in fact, taken over the planet, placing most of the population under their dominion. A few scattered pockets of humanity, constantly in danger of being assimilated, have mounted a resistance. As the Reivers prepare a devastating strike against the Architects, Rachel Stewart, who grew up in Keanu, leads a small band of human survivors in an attempt to infiltrate the massive Reiver fortress in the American West. But their only hope for victory may yet be somewhere inside the NEO. If the men and women still in Keanu cannot find it, humanity will be finished. And the galaxy will be next.

It's done in the context of the Halloween weekend, but for me the best bit here is the quote near the end from series writer Michael Cassutt.