Authors: Hans-Ake Lilja
George Guidall:
Frank Muller and I have been friends since before I began audiobook narration. We shared the stage in a production of a Faydeau farce, entitled
Flea in Her Ear
, back in the 70s. It’s a strange feeling recording “his” material. He
is
“the” King reader, as you say, and it is not my intention to minimize that fact. Actually, recording this material brings me closer to him, in a way. I think of him constantly while I do it. It’s unavoidable. His tragic accident has deprived many people of extraordinary listening pleasure. Anyone wishing to contribute to his long and arduous recovery can contact the Wavedancer Foundation for information. The funds would be greatly appreciated.
Lilja:
It says in your bio that you have recorded more than eight hundred unabridged novels. That is probably more books than I will ever read in my lifetime. Do you have a favorite?
George Guidall:
Favorites? There are a few. King’s work, of course. Proust’s
Swann’s Way
, Lamb’s
I Know This Much is True
,
Frankenstein
, Thomas H. Cook’s mysteries,
Crime and Punishment
…oh, there are so many. Why don’t I just include a list and you can disperse it like milkweed to the wind. [The list can be found at the end of the interview.]
Lilja:
After reading so many novels by other authors, have you ever thought about writing a novel yourself?
George Guidall:
You’ve probably hit on the reason I love doing this. I’m most likely a frustrated writer, which is why this interview is so long-winded.
Lilja:
I understand that you also read
The Bookman’s Promise
by Cliff Janeway, which will be released in March 2004, and will be reading
The Dark Tower VI
(August 2004) and
The Dark Tower VII
(November 2004). Anything else new on the way?
George Guidall:
The Bookman’s Promise
is written by John Dunning. Cliff Janeway is his major character. Dunning is another of my favorites. Great stories. Crime in the wonderful world of antique book dealers. Janeway is a retired cop and owns a bookstore. I just completed the second of a series of elegantly written WWII novels of people’s struggles to stem the Nazi tide in Europe as the war progressed. Espionage and love and betrayal and marvelously drawn pictures of Europe in the early 40s. Allen Furst’s novels are
Kingdom of Shadows
and
Blood of Victory
. They are top notch.
Lilja:
Again, thanks for doing this interview. Are there any last thoughts you want to share with the visitors of Lilja’s Library?
George Guidall:
Let us all congratulate Stephen King on his lifetime achievement award at the National Book Awards on November 19th. If anyone deserves it, he certainly does; not only for his tremendous output, but for his journey to the top as well as his ever-present generosity to fellow writers and, yes, even to audiobook narrators.
A Suggested List for Audiobook Listeners
George Guidall has recorded more than eight hundred unabridged novels, bringing a consistent artistry to his readings and delighting listeners for over twenty years. His narrations of everything from classics like
Crime and Punishment
and
The Iliad
to best sellers like
Snow Falling on Cedars
and Lillian Jackson Braun’s
The Cat Who
…series have set a standard for excellence recognized throughout the audiobook industry. Acclaimed as one of the original “Golden Voices” in Audiofile magazine, he holds the record for the most “Earphone” awards (thirty-two) given by the magazine to any narrator for excellence in narration. In addition to his award-winning work as an audiobook narrator, Guidall has also enjoyed a forty-year career in the theatre, including starring roles on Broadway in such plays as
Chapter Two
,
Cafe Crown
,
Alone Together
and
Cold Storage
. He has received an Obie award for best performance Off-Broadway, and has shared the stage at the New York Shakespeare Festival with Kevin Kline, Morgan Freeman, Meryl Streep and Tracey Ullman.
****
Richard Dooling
Posted: February 26, 2004
Lilja:
Hi Richard. Thanks for agreeing to this interview. Tell me a bit about yourself. I’m afraid that many of my readers don’t know who you are and what you have done before your involvement with
Kingdom Hospital.
Richard Dooling:
I am primarily a novelist. You can read about me and my work at
www.dooling.com
. That will save me repeating it here.
Lilja:
How did you get involved with
Kingdom Hospital
? I heard that Stephen King contacted you after reading one of your books; is that correct? What do you say when you are answering your phone and it’s Stephen King on the other end?
Richard Dooling:
Stephen King quoted from one of my novels (
Brain Storm
) in his book
On Writing
. He sent me a signed copy of
On Writing
with a nice note, and also said that he had read
Critical Care
and
White Man’s Grave
. After that, we began emailing, and he said that he might be doing a TV series about a haunted hospital and asked if I would like to help. I said yes.
Lilja:
I understand you are listed as a creative consultant and your main thing was to help with the medical aspects in the series, but I also know that you wrote some of the episodes. How would you describe your part in the making of
Kingdom Hospital
?
Richard Dooling:
Originally I was hired to help with the medical jazz in the scripts, because I used to work in hospital intensive care units as a Respiratory Therapist. But even after the scripts have been written and are being shot, there are frequent changes and modifications that must be made to reflect the changing needs of the actors and filmmakers. That’s a lot of what I do during the filming process. After awhile, I was upgraded to a producer, which means you must do whatever needs to be done at any given time.
Lilja:
How did the writing process work? Did Stephen decide what would happen and in which direction the plot would go, or did you work that out together?
Richard Dooling:
We made an outline early on. Then Steve wrote the first four episodes and sent them to me for medical details. Then we kind of proceeded from there.
Lilja:
How much of the series have you written and how much is written by King?
Richard Dooling:
In terms of hours worth of scripts (of which there are fifteen), Stephen King wrote more than two-thirds of the series because he wrote episodes one and thirteen, which are both two hours long, and most of the hourly episodes too. I wrote four episodes (one hour ones), mostly in the middle.
Lilja:
Stephen has said somewhere that if
Kingdom Hospital
gets renewed for a second season he would turn over the writing to you entirely. Is that true, and if so, how do you feel about that?
Richard Dooling:
At the moment, we are focused on getting the episodes ready to air and making sure they are the best they can be. We don’t have time to speculate about next season, if there is one. Stephen King likes
Kingdom Hospital
a lot, and it’s very personal for him. If it kept going, my guess would be that he would still write it, because it’s fun.
Lilja:
How much did you look at the original,
The Kingdom
, when you created the plot and the characters? Some of the characters are really close to the original one, like Dr. Jesse James and Dr. Stegman, for example, and some of the scenes are quite similar to the original. Did you aim for a remake?
Richard Dooling:
We really liked the characters and some of the scenes from Lars Von Trier’s
Riget
. We did not aim for a remake; we wanted to add a lot and to Americanize it, and as the series progresses you will see that we have added many characters and situations that are not in the Danish original.
Lilja:
How much did you participate in the actual shooting of the series, and if you were present at the shooting, what was your role then?
Richard Dooling:
I don’t shoot. I don’t know anything about it. Writers don’t belong on the set. They should be in their rooms writing.
Lilja:
What do you think of Stephen King as a writer?
Richard Dooling:
Stephen King is the grand master. That’s why you built your website, yes? I differ from some of your visitors in one respect: I don’t really get all that scared by a Stephen King book. Mainly he makes me laugh, which is the highest compliment I can pay to another author.
Lilja:
You have written books like
Brain Storm
,
White Man’s Grave
and
Critical Care
. How would you describe yourself as a writer to someone that hasn’t read any of your books?
Richard Dooling:
I write satire and horror.
Lilja:
What is next for you?
Richard Dooling:
More satire and horror.
Lilja:
Again, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. It was fun.
****
Ed Begley, Jr.
Posted: March 1, 2004
TV fans will know Ed from his numerous guest appearances. He has been in
7th Heaven
as Dr. Hank Hastings, as well as
Six Feet Under
as Hiram Gunderson. He has also appeared in
Scrubs
,
Dharma & Greg
and
The West Wing
. Movie fans will recognize him from such movies as
Homicide: The Movie
,
Not in This Town
and
World War II: When Lions Roared
.
Lilja:
I looked you up in Internet Movie Database and I was stunned by how much you have done. The list goes on and on. I especially noticed that you have been a guest star in many TV series. How do you do it? How do you find the time?
Ed Begley, Jr.:
I feel lucky to still be busy after thity-seven years. I will always find the time for good projects.
Lilja:
Have you always wanted to be an actor?
Ed Begley, Jr.:
Since I was three years old, I’m told.