Christina Rice (I)
Presenting: a conversation with Christina Rice – writer of history, Hollywood, and horses (the little ones) – on all things Ann Dvorak, Jane Russell, Equestria, research, books dictating to you how you're going to write them, and life and marriage amidst the demands of Type One wrangling.
In which: we discuss both her latest, MEAN... MOODY... MAGNIFICIENT!: JANE RUSSELL AND THE MARKETING OF A HOLLYWOOD LEGEND (now available from University Press of Kentucky) and her first, ANN DVORAK: HOLLYWOOD'S FORGOTTEN REBEL. Along the way, we explore working with the two Howards – Hughes and Hawks –, the nature of celebrity in the studio system, Cary Grant ponies, the unsung heroes of libraries and research, treasures lost to a post office bin, the importance of not taking life for granted when you live with (or are living with someone living with) Type One Diabetes, final meals, and, most importantly, Ann Dvorak clubbing coyotes.
Christina's bio:
Christina Rice is a writer, librarian, and archivist. She began collecting memorabilia relating to actress Ann Dvorak in the late 1990s which eventually lead her to document Dvorak's life and launch www.anndvorak.com. While working on Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel (University Press of Kentucky), she obtained an MLIS from San Jose State University and now oversees the photo collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. She has also written numerous issues of the My Little Pony comic book series (IDW Publishing). She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, writer Joshua Hale Fialkov, their daughter, and two adorable dogs.
Chapters:
- Intro and Obligatory Canine Programming Notes: (00:00)
- "I felt like I was writing about THE OUTLAW for months." (01:43)
- "At the end of the day I do think it's amazing that she (Jane) actually had a career." (05:20)
- "And unfortunately, Howard Hughes was not a director." (09:37)
- "Probably my first long-term goal in my life was to be able to walk through Movieland Wax Museum and know who everyone was." (14:23)
- Libraries + research + "Thank you, Greg!" (17:26)
- "Somewhere sitting in some postal bin is a photo of Ann Dvorak and Nicholas Wade that should have been in my book..." (21:07)
- "That book certainly took as long as it needed to take..." (25:47)
- "With Ann, that book was me being a fan girl; with Jane, I can actually call myself an author now." (26:36)
- "The way I wrote the Jane book was how I thought I would write the Ann book." (32:11)
- "I love that I have a Cary Grant pony in it, and a Thomas Mitchell pony..." (34:30)
- "That's what we had to do to get him the health insurance... it just speaks volumes about how screwed up our healthcare system is." (38:02)
- "Understand that... she might be thinking, 'Gosh, I might not have him here as long as I was planning on' – and be sympathetic to that." (40:50)
- "By the end of it all, I just judged everyone a lot less harshly than when I was young and maybe knew it all." (46:47)
- "Where can people connect with you?" + "'Ann Dvorak Clubs Coyotes.'" (51:25)
- Outro (53:43)
Linkage:
- You can connect with Christina via christinaricewrites.com and on Twitter, @christinarice.
- And be sure to check out her treasure troves of Ann Dvorak and Jane Russell material at anndvorak.com and janerussellbiography.com.
- You can also follow Christina's Jane Russell postings on Instagram, @janerussellbio.
- You can listen to Part Two of our conversation, on our mutual love of THE GODFATHER, here.
Theme music, "Intersections," by Uziel Colón. All rights reserved.
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