Montgomery Clift's Newphew in my Apartment!!!

In researching my first novel Letters to Montgomery Clift, I read many articles and books about my favorite movie star.  I also watched documentaries.  Who knew I'd be in a new Montgomery Clift documentary, produced by Montgomery Clift's nephew, Robert Clift! Robert Clift is the son of Brooks Clift (Monty's brother) and  journalist (and The McLaughlin Group's) Eleanor Clift.

It was great having Robert Clift and his lovely wife Hillary Daemon Clift in my apartment.  They were both insanely sweet people.  Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from the Clift family.

It was a dream come true to talk about Montgomery Clift for hours with someone who was related to him.  Hillary emailed me some months ago, and I couldn't believe that I was in contact with members of Montgomery Clift's family.

There hadn't been a new legitimate documentary on Montgomery Clift in some time.  When I mean "legitimate," I mean a well-researched, thoughtful film on the subject matter.  Those salacious bio episodes for cable entertainment don't count.

A new perspective on this important actor and his contributions, taken with a more contemporary outlook is needed. 

The New Suzie

Last month I interviewed pioneering actress Nancy Kwan. She made it big in The World of Suzie Wong, where she plays a prostitute with a heart of gold. I caught up with her as she celebrated 50 years in show business. A documentary on her life was being shown where she talks about losing her only son to AIDS. I interviewed her about AIDS awareness in the Asian community.

This, of course, got me thinking about a writing project called The New World of Suzie W. It'll be a modern take of this Asian woman, dealing with her crumbling life. Instead of Hong Kong, she lives in Silverlake. Instead of prostituting, she's an aging artist forced to whore her creativity. Hmmmm.