Review Fix chats with “Being Audrey Hepburn†author Mitchell Kriegman, who discusses the book and the creative experience behind it. The creator of the cult-classic TV show “Clarissa Explains It All,†Kriegman, who has also wrote for Saturday Night Live and played creative roles on Rugrats and Ren and Stimpy, has no problem communicating with a large audience.
Review Fix: What was the writing process like?
Mitchell Kriegman: I hated to stop. I came back to the work again and again, researching each and every element.
Review Fix: Who are your creative influences?
Kriegman: Everybody and everything. Actually, it wasn’t until I ignored my favorite writers that I was able to write this book. I had to find my own voice.
Review Fix: Who will enjoy this book the most?
Kriegman: Women of every age – daughters and mothers. The most interesting thing I’ve discovered is that young women are enjoying the book as if it’s all fantasy — they can’t imagine you could actually get away with slipping on a beautiful dress, talking and being clever and pass among wealthy folk. But older women read the book as reality. They know that everyone assumes that if you’re dressed right, are smart and vivacious, then they assume you must belong.
The other thing is that to young readers the Hamptons, and the Mary Boone gallery, the parties and Soho House seem all made up, like some elaborate fantasy. Older readers who have seen and been to many of these places see how literally and meticulously they’ve been depicted.
Review Fix: What’s your favorite element of the book?
Kriegman: It’s hard to choose. From an emotional point of view I enjoyed the grittier New Jersey parts of the story with her mother, sister and Nan. From a writer’s point of view I loved layering real New York and contrasting it to Audrey’s New York.
Review Fix: How is it different? What makes it special?
Kriegman: On the surface the story is a kind of modern Cinderella story and it flies by until it takes a few serious turns and you find yourself as a reader in a more serious consequential story. That’s important. I also think the meta-level of Audrey Hepburn’s life is pretty unique.
Review Fix: How have your prior writing experiences helped in crafting this tale?
Kriegman: Story and character from all the television I’ve created helped. But in many ways I had to relearn fiction writing and go back to the drawing board again and again to find the way to convey with words what I used to convey in visual images.
Review Fix: How do you want this book to stand the test of time?
Kriegman: It’s a tale of self-Pygmalion. It’s how you reinvent your self. Transform yourself into someone you want to be. Lisbeth becomes someone she wants to be by pretending to be someone else and that story is always important.
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