Review Fix Exclusive: Mitchell Kriegman Talks ‘Being Audrey Hepburn’

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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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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