I'm not enamoured of the whole Hemingway-Fitzgerald bullshit that consumes American idolatry of writers. I think Hemingway's an awful writer. And why did those two write their best novels when they were 27? Because they were drunks. If I'd written my best novel at the age of 27, what sort of pig would I be?
2
[on 'In One Person'] One reason this book took only two years to write is that, from a research point-of-view, it was easy. I remember those terribly conflicted feelings that any young boy feels in an all-boy school, where some of the older boys are forbiddingly attractive to you. You're attracted to everything in sight: faculty wives, your friends' mothers. You think, 'Jesus,can I please be attracted to somebody I'm supposed to be attracted to?'
3
I wasn't afraid of anything until I had a kid. Then I was terrified because immediately I could imagine a hundred ways in which I could not protect him. But I also got my subject: what are you afraid of? The subject is always what are you afraid of. I don't begin a novel unless there's something in it that makes me say, 'God, please don't let this happen to me'.
4
My grandmother died a few days short of her one-hundredth birthday, and [near the end] her only memories were the ones that made her laugh or cry. She would be laughing, telling a story, and suddenly her face would darken because half the people in it were dead. I thought, 'This is it. This is what you do. You think of the funniest fucking thing you can think of and then you turn on a dime until it's not funny at all'.
5
I remember thinking when I finished 'Garp', 'Thank God I'll never have to write again about the issue of sexual tolerance or anger at sexual intolerance. That will be over by the time I write my next book', How naive.
6
You never see a great wrestler who doesn't drill, who stops fanatically practicing his best shot. My old coach used to say that if you were in it for the match, if you were in it for the trophies, you were in it for the wrong reasons. If you presume to love something, you must love the process of it much more than you love the finished product.
7
[on his novel 'In One Person] 'The World According to Garp' was about intolerance of sexual differences. Well, here is that subject again - this time from the point-of-view of a bisexual man. Too bad that sexual intolerance doesn't go away. The situation for gay rights is a little better than it used to be, but there are still troglodytes opposed to gay marriage. The Republican presidential candidates seem to think that mocking gay rights is okay and that opposing abortion rights is an obligation.
8
In my novels I have always been attracted to sexual outsiders or misfits. I am drawn to these characters because I love them. But I also fear for them. I'm afraid of how the more mainstream world will abuse and mistreat them.
9
There's a minority which is an open target in this country which no one protects, and that's rich people.
10
(What he calls his incredibly popular novel "The World According to Garp"): "An artfully-disguised soap opera."
11
Whatever I write, no matter how gray or dark the subject matter, it's still going to be a comic novel.
12
When I feel like being a director, I write a novel.
#
Fact
1
"The Cider House Rules" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California was awarded the 1998 Los Angeles Stage Alliance Ovation Award for Best Play (Large Theatre).
2
"The Cider House Rules" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California was awarded the 1998 Back Stage Garland Award for Production.
3
He is the only Oscar winning screenwriter to win for adapting his own novel.
4
Wrestled for the University of Pittsburgh.
5
Not owning a personal computer, writes all his novels the long-handed way.
6
Was on the cover of Time Magazine in August of 1982.
7
Never knew his father and was raised by his stepfather.
8
Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors." New Revision Series, Vol. 133, pp. 269-276. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.
9
Always prides himself on having a "good imagination."
10
Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992.
11
Won an American Book award for "The World According to Garp."
12
He has been a wrestling coach for years.
13
Wrote the adaptation of "The Cider House Rules" over a period of 13 years.
14
John has two children, Colin (33) and Brendan (28) from his first marriage. He has a third son, Everett (age 6 as of May, 1998), from his current marriage.
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Door in the Floor
2004
novel "A Widow for One Year"
The Cider House Rules
1999
novel / screenplay
Simon Birch
1998
novel "A Prayer For Owen Meany" - suggestion
The Hotel New Hampshire
1984
novel
The World According to Garp
1982
novel
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Cider House Rules
1999
Stationmaster
The World According to Garp
1982
Referee
Studio 57
1956
TV Series
David
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Wonders
2011
Short very special thanks
Streetwise
1984
Documentary thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Página 2
2010-2013
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Via llibre
2013
TV Series
Himself - Guest
La grande librairie
2011-2013
TV Series
Himself
Qwerty
2010-2013
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Skavlan
2012
TV Series
Himself - Guest
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2012
TV Series
Himself - Guest
The Hour
2009-2012
TV Series
Himself
The World According to Irving
2012
Documentary
Himself
Metropolis
2011
TV Series
Himself
Unauthorized: The Harvey Weinstein Project
2011
Documentary
Himself
Le grand journal de Canal+
2011
TV Series
Himself
Ànima
2010
TV Series
Himself
The Bonnie Hunt Show
2009
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Deadline
2006
TV Series documentary
Himself - Guest
L'illa del tresor
2006
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Ireland AM
2005
TV Series
Himself
Breakfast
2005
TV Series
Himself - Guest
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
2005
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Frame on the Wall: The Making of 'The Door in the Floor'
2004
Video documentary short
Himself
ESPN 25: Who's #1?
2004
TV Series documentary
Himself
Anatomy of a Scene
2004
TV Series documentary
Himself
ESPN SportsCentury
2001
TV Series documentary
Himself
The 72nd Annual Academy Awards
2000
TV Special
Himself - Winner: Best Adapted Screenplay
Charlie Rose
1998-2000
TV Series
Himself - Guest
The Cider House Rules: The Making of an American Classic
1999
Video documentary short
Himself
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1996
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Good Morning America
1989
TV Series
Himself - Guest
The Pat Sajak Show
1989
TV Series
Himself - Guest
Do Not Enter: The Visa War Against Ideas
1986
Documentary
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Unsere Besten
2004
TV Series
Himself
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2000
Oscar
Academy Awards, USA
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
The Cider House Rules (1999)
2000
Golden Satellite Award
Satellite Awards
Best Screenplay, Adapted
The Cider House Rules (1999)
1999
NBR Award
National Board of Review, USA
Best Screenplay
The Cider House Rules (1999)
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2005
USC Scripter Award
USC Scripter Award
The Door in the Floor (2004)
2000
Golden Globe
Golden Globes, USA
Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
The Cider House Rules (1999)
2000
USC Scripter Award
USC Scripter Award
The Cider House Rules (1999)
2000
WGA Award (Screen)
Writers Guild of America, USA
Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
$17 Million