Caleb Carr News - Caleb Carr & The Alienist Books

Confirmation of The Alienist TV Drama Series Development

Posted on May 29, 2014No Comments

Further to last month’s announcement from Paramount TV that The Alienist was slated for development into a TV drama series, a three-year production deal between Paramount TV and Anonymous Content (producer of True Detective) was confirmed this week by Amy Powell, the president of Paramount TV, and the managing partners of Anonymous Content, with the first collaboration between the companies confirmed to be the TV drama series inspired by The Alienist. Although no further details have been released regarding the development of the drama series itself, Variety reported that the three-year production deal will provide Paramount TV with “first-look rights to produce and distribute scripted programming developed by Anonymous Content.” It will also include “rights to broadcast, premium cable, cable and online distribution.”

As more information is released about the drama series development, you can be sure to see it updated here.

The Alienist in development as a TV drama series

Posted on April 9, 20146 Comments

In several articles released today, announcements were made about a handful of new Paramount TV projects currently in development including “a drama series inspired by Caleb Carr’s best-selling novel, The Alienist, with Anonymous Content (True Detective) executive producing” (Deadline). These announcements were accompanied by Paramount TV naming its new heads of comedy and drama development, working under president Amy Powell. Talking to Variety about Paramount TV’s new developments, Powell commented, “It’s not only all the great movies we’ve released over the years but all the books and the articles and the life rights we own, and the great screenplays that never made it to the screen. To be able to walk in here with a literal clean slate and (chairman) Brad (Grey’s) directive — it’s the best of all worlds.” She went on to say that the focus at Paramount TV will be on “quality not quantity” of projects. Talking specifically about The Alienist, The Guardian reported that Powell described the book as “an incredible piece of writing — when I was looking through our library, I thought this is something we have to do.”

As more information comes to about this development, you can be sure to see it updated here.

Caleb Carr Speaks Out About Kill Your Darlings

Posted on February 26, 20141 Comment

To date, I have avoided discussing the much publicised independent film Kill Your Darlings on 17th Street. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, and Michael C. Hall, the film claims to document the “true story” of the founding of the Beat Generation and focuses on “the murder that united the Beats,” 1944 murder of David Kammerer by Lucien Carr (Caleb Carr’s father). As none of the Carr family were consulted by the film’s research team and nobody from the family commented on the film following its release, I had made the decision to avoid discussing the film on the 17th Street blog, which I have always endeavored to keep strictly dedicated to Caleb Carr’s professional work and interviews. However, with the release of the film on DVD in a few weeks, Mr. Carr has recently spoken out about the film’s version of events, describing it as a “terribly inaccurate reading … based almost entirely on Allen Ginsberg’s versions of events.”

Rather than paraphrase Mr. Carr’s full statement here, I have included the first two paragraphs of the statement below and provide a link to its original source for visitors to continue reading.

You’re wholly right that “Kill Your Darlings” was a tired, ludicrous reading of the story of the murder case; and like all the other terribly inaccurate readings that have been put out there, it was based almost entirely on Allen Ginsberg’s versions of events. And Allen had an awful lot of reasons for revising the facts to suit a narrative that served his ego and his agenda far more effectively than it did the truth.

First off, the facts of the case: David Kammerer did not begin his obsession, as you have rightly suspected, when my father was an adult: it began when my father was only twelve or so, and Kammerer was his Boy Scout troop leader (and the fact that my father later killed Kammerer with his Boy Scout knife is not something that any psychologist or detective I know would ever dare to call a coincidence).

The remainder of the statement contains a powerful message about the damage produced by child abuse, the impact it has across generations, and the film’s distortion of the murder it supposedly documented. I, for one, am grateful that Mr. Carr has spoken out, and I hope that other visitors of 17th Street will feel similarly.

New York Times Video Feature

Posted on August 21, 20132 Comments

Late last week, Caleb Carr and a number of other notable New Yorkers were asked to comment on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s legacy. Mr. Carr’s short video feature can be viewed here, along with an excerpt from the commentary Mr. Carr contributed. The full article can be read at the New York Times website.

When Michael Bloomberg finally leaves office, we may rely on pervasive testimonials concerning the manner in which he has made the city cleaner, safer, more attractive to business and a hive of new development; and many of these assessments will even have the virtue of being true. What is less likely to be discussed is the cost of all this supposed civic improvement to the soul of the city.

The influx of wealth and the super-wealthy from around the world has meant the exodus of those creative New Yorkers who gave the city its own unique romance — and heart. This is part of the “he cleaned up crime” aspect of Bloomberg’s legacy: For it was the city’s seedy, crime-ridden neighborhoods that could offer cheap housing not only to the middle and lower classes of workers and business owners, but to artists, writers and musicians.