Joe Donnelly in conversation with Rex Weiner

Rex Weiner discusses his newly reissued collection of stories, The (Original) Adventures of Ford Fairlane, with L.A. Man author Joe Donnelly. Rex Weiner’s screenwriting credits include The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, based on his original stories, directed by Renny Harlin and starring Andrew Dice Clay for 20th Century Fox. As one of the first writers brought on board to launch the TV series Miami Vice, Weiner wrote the now classic 9th episode, “Glades.” As a journalist, Weiner’s articles have appeared in Vanity Fair, The Paris Review, The New Yorker, LA Weekly, L’Officiel Hommes, and Rolling Stone Italia. “Lost & Found,” his column about Hollywood entertainment history, appeared weekly in Variety where was a staff reporter. He is one of the founding editors of High Times Magazine and former editor of Swank (“The Magazine For Men”). He is also the co-author of The Woodstock Census (Viking), one of the key texts analyzing the impact of the Sixties Generation on American society. A native New Yorker, Mr. Weiner lives in Los Angeles and in Baja California Sur, Mexico, where he is co-owner of Casa Dracula, a 160-year old hacienda in the historic pueblo magico of Todos Santos. Joe Donnelly is an award-winning journalist, writer and editor who lives in Los Angeles His short story “Bonus Baby”, published in the spring/summer 2015 issue of Zyzzyva, is featured in the 2016 O. Henry Prize Stories Collection as one of the 20 best short stories of the year. His short story “50 Minutes“, co-authored with Harry Shannon, was selected for The Best American Mystery Stories, 2012 and was recently made into a short film starring Stephen Tobolowsky and DJ Qualls. “The Lone Wolf", written for Orion, was a 2013 longreads.com editor’s pick and a 2014 Pen Center USA Literary Awards Finalist for Journalism. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Review of Books, LA Weekly, Mother Jones, Huck, Orion, The Surfer’s Journal, Washington Post, and other publications. Donnelly co-founded and co-edited Slake: Los Angeles, the acclaimed journal of long-form journalism, fiction, essay, poetry, photography and art. Slake made a dozen appearances on the Los Angeles Times‘ bestsellers list and work appearing in Slake earned numerous awards and recognitions, including multiple Best American series selections, Livingston Award finalists, PEN USA finalists, LA Press Club awards, Franco-American Foundation’s Excellence in Immigration Reporting First Prize, and more. In 2014, Rare Bird Books published We Dropped A Bomb On You: The Best of Slake, I-IV. From 2002-2008, Donnelly was the deputy editor of LA Weekly. He is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of English and Journalism at Whittier College.