Ep365 - Dennis Lehane, Author-Screenwriter ‘Black Bird,’ ’Shutter Island,’ ‘The Wire’

Dennis Lehane grew up in a storytelling, bar culture. For him, storytelling was in his blood. Family would gather every week, telling stories of the Old Country. “I think I just grew up in the thrall of that,” he told me. “I wrote my first novel when I was 15.” As an author, Dennis is known for Mystic River, Shutter Island, and The Drop, all novels that have been turned into films. In addition to novels, he’s written for The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Mr. Mercedes, The Outsider, and most recently, Apple’s Black Bird. In this interview, the author-screenwriter talks about being exposed to violence, what it means to be ceased by an idea, why he outlined Shutter Island but none of his other novels, his friendships with Stephen King and David Simon, and why good television can actually be trickier to write than novels. Subscribe for video interviews on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/CreativePrinciples?sub_confirmation=1 If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It only takes about 60-seconds and it really helps convince some of the hard-to-get guests to sit down and have a chat (simply scroll to the bottom on your iTunes Podcast app and click “Write Review"). Enjoy the show!