WARREN ADLER Warren Adler/ Press Kit “Adler writes with skill and a sense of scene.” The New York Times Book Review STONEHOUSE PRODUCTIONS GARGI SHINDÉ CREATIVE DIRECTOR OFFICE: (212) 350-9356 CELL: (917) 596-1897 [email protected] WWW.WARRENADLER.COM .co Warren Adler/ Press Kit Acclaimed author, playwright, poet, and essayist Warren Adler is best known for The War of the Roses, his masterpiece fictionalization of a macabre divorce that was adapted into the iconic dark comedy that starred Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. Following the success of his The War of the Roses, Adler went on to option and sell film rights to more than a dozen of his novels and short stories to Hollywood and major television networks. Random Hearts, The Sunset Gang, Private Lies, Funny Boys, Madeline’s Miracles, Trans-Siberian Express and his Fiona Fitzgerald mystery series are only a few titles that have forever left Adler’s mark on contemporary American authorship from page to stage to screen. Adler illuminates the intricacies of the modern American family through wit and realism, a trademark that has earned him the moniker ‘master of dysfunction’. He navigates the turbulent waters of the American political and social scene on the other hand with unsurpassed authenticity. His political thrillers such as The Henderson Equation, The Casanova Embrace, and American Quartet - a ‘New York Times notable crime book’ are born from his experiences as a former White House correspondent, and co-owner of Washington Dossier Magazine, chronicling the social history of the nation’s capital from 1975-1991. He was also a businessman and once campaign strategist to President Richard Nixon. With over 40 years of an insider’s view of the exclusive domain of the nation’s political elite, Adler writes with a unique insight and command rendering him an invaluable voice in the evolving American experience, and a trademark in American literature. The War of the Roses Warren Adler’s cautionary tale on divorce and the destructive power of materialism; While the film garnered outstanding box office and critical success with multiple Golden Globe BAFTA and international awards nominations, Adler’s stage version, also adapted from the original novel, is a ‘Sold-out’ success internationally, opening to spectacular reviews in over 10 foreign language productions in countries such as Spain, Italy, Germany, Denmark, The Czech Republic, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico. “What is wonderful about The War of the Roses is that the filmmakers are no more willing to compromise their black comic vision of marriage, than the Roses are willing to settle their differences…it sustains our horrified interests and keeps us laughing…” –Time Magazine Warren Adler/ Press Kit Three decades since its release, this classic story has not only continued to proliferate globally across media, it has also entered the Zietgiest, and its title has morphed into the nomenclature of divorce; “The War of the Roses” and its German counterpart “Die Rosenkreig” are today used to describe contentious divorce proceedings. “Flawlessly unravels marriage clichés. Adler freshly creates the text for the play and develops dramatic structure without reducing it, a perfect mechanism for the theater.” – L’Adige on the Italian stage premiere. Internationally, renowned television and film actors such as Martin Semmelrogge (Germany), Carla Peterson (Argentina), Carlos Sobera (Spain), and Giancarlo Zanetti (Italy) have starred in the theatre productions of The War of the Roses the world over. The play is now available for production in English language territories and is expected to premiere on the North-American theatre circuit in 2014. Random Hearts A sensitive examination not only of the luck factor in bringing people together but also of the effects of infidelity on its victims. With a deftness I had not thought possible, Adler tells the gripping story of Edward Davis and Vivien Simpson, who are brought together by a police report that their spouses had been killed in a plane crash and that they had been having an affair. Adler is keenly aware of the psychological aspects of relationships… capacity to hold the reader to the very end.” – First Editions, Alden Whitman Directed by Sydney Pollack, Columbia Pictures released Random Hearts starring Harrison Ford and Kristen Scott Thomas. The New York Times described the film as having, ”a stylistic polish and keenness of observation not found in American films anymore.” Warren Adler/ Press Kit Private Lies Adler fueled an unprecedented bidding war between three motion picture studios in a Hollywood commission for his then unpublished novel Private Lies. “Tri-state Pictures outbid Warner Bros. and Columbia, and purchased the rights to Private Lies for $1.2 million…the highest sums yet paid in Hollywood for an unpublished manuscript.” New York Post “Adler has produced another minor masterpiece of gallows humor.” New York Daily News Ken Kramer, a Manhattan advertising copywriter and his wife Sheila, appear to have a comfortable life and loving marriage. But when Ken is taken along on a business dinner and introduced to the wife of his wife’s major client, we discover she is Ken’s old flame. Baffled by her non-recognition, he learns that she has totally reinvented herself and snagged a rich husband who has no knowledge of her real early life. Unbeknownst to Ken, his own wife is carrying on a steamy affair with the client. When the love and sexual obsession between Ken and his old love bursts into flames again, the plot thickens as both couples embark on an African Safari with startling and tragic results. “Adler is a skillful practitioner of the deception game.” – Eagle Tribune Warren Adler/ Press Kit The Sunset Gang “Warren Adler has caught the feeling of Sunset Village… He observes with a discerning, compassionate eye the foibles, dreams, frustrations, clever schemings and the groovings of long habits of the residents. And in the telling of them he enlists responsive feelings in his readers. A funny book…”!- The Houston Post Produced by Linda Lavin for PBS’ American Playhouse Series, Adler’s book of short stories entitled The Sunset Gang was adapted into a trilogy starring Uta Hagen, Harold Gould, Dori Brenner, Jerry Stiller and Ron Rifkin garnering Doris Roberts an Emmy nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series’. “Dramatically daring.” Los Angeles Times The musical version of The Sunset Gang received an Off- Broadway production with music scored by noted composer L. Russell Brown (“Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree”, “C’ Mon Marianne” Jersey Boys) and lyrics by Adler himself. The New York Times called it, “a bittersweet musical about aging and desire… a deeper examination of love and loyalty among people over 60.” Stories from The Sunset Gang and another collection of short stories entitled New York Echoes have both been adapted into the audio book format as well, with Emmy Award winning actress Cynthia Nixon as the narrator for New York Echoes. Warren Adler/ Press Kit Digital Publishing Pioneer Adler introduced the first digital reader manufactured by SONY in 2007. After being published by houses such as Viking, Putnam and Warner Books, he re-acquired his complete backlist and converted his entire library to digital publishing formats, now published under Stonehouse Productions, an independent publishing house. Select Media Adler’s own select television appearances include The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Geraldo Rivera, ABC Top Priority and more. Print Media “Warren Adler: From Man About Town to Life and Death Obsession to Write” – Washington Post, Erin Williams “Steal This Book. Or At Least Download it Free” - The New York Times, Claudia Deustch “How My Novel Was Almost Developed into Oblivion” – The New York Times, Warren Adler “Writer Has Novel Idea for The Movies !“Roses” Author Insists on Adapting Own Work for Film” – Cincinnati Enquirer, Ann Hicks “Roses’ Author Blends Farce and Foul Play” – New York Daily News!, Sheryl Connelly “The First American Knight: Playwright Warren Adler Gives Us the ‘Real’ Columbus” – The Montgomery Journal (D.C. Examiner), Linda Waters “A Writer Who Says Getting His Own Way is the Way to Success” – The New York Times, Aljean Harmetz Other interviews and reviews have appeared in Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Newsweek, Variety, Publishers Weekly, Glamour, New York Daily News, Time, Rolling Stone, Gannett News Service, Chicago Tribune, The London Telegraph, and The Hollywood Reporter. Warren Adler/ Press Kit Select Works of Note Adler’s themes deal with intimate human relationships—the mysterious nature of love and attraction, the fragile human relationships, the corrupting power of money, the aging process, and how families cling together when challenged by the outside world, often discovering that the suffering caused by dysfunction and resentment can sometimes create the most powerful and unbreakable bonds. For the complete catalogue of over 33 novels, short stories and theatre works visit www.warrenadler.com. HISTORICAL FICTION Target Churchill – (Co-author Pulitzer Prize nominee James C. Humes) Winston Churchill, the cigar-puffing icon of the British fighting spirit embarks on a post-WWII crusade to lift the veil of secrecy that hangs over Stalin’s Soviet Union. Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri sets the diplomatic stage upon which the world’s political players grapple for supremacy as Churchill delivers his infamous Iron Curtain speech on March 5th 1946. While the Soviet sphere of influence creeping across Europe is to be exposed, Stalin recruits a zealous Nazi and former member of the German American Bund to forever silence the bastion of democracy and forever change the face of modern history, to assassinate Winston Churchill. During his mission, the assassin Frank Mueller begins a dangerous affair with a woman he doesn't realize is his natural enemy.