In 1992, I was a literary agent at Writers & Artists Agency in Los
Angeles. In a town where new scripts by unproven young writers
can't get their scripts read, I was one of the few agents who was
eager to find new talent. One day, I received a letter from a young
writer asking me to read his script. The title intrigued me and the
story he described demanded that I read the script. The young writer's name was
Steve Conrad and he had just graduated from the University of
Chicago. The script was "Wrestling Ernest Hemingway", and from
the very first page, I knew I had to represent it. The writing was so
simple, so poetic, so powerful, so witty and so real that I called
him before I had even finished reading the script. I was able to
convince Todd Black, an enthusiastic young producer, to read it
and his passion matched mine. He sold it to Warner Bros. and
they made the movie. In a Hollywood rarity, Steve remained the
sole writer of the script.
I am so gratified to read the User Comments and to see how this
little gem of a movie has affected so many people. I am no longer
a literary agent; I now teach English and History to 6th graders. I
shall always be so proud that I had some part in bringing this
wonderful writer and his script to the screen, and that so many of
you have shared my passion about it.
